Chapter 1 For the Fifth Naval Fleet Commander, Kōichi Shiozawa, It Was Already Certain That His Five Thousand Marines Had Been Annihilated in One Day

He couldn't accept such a fact, but now he was powerless against the battles on land. The entire Fifth Fleet's three main methods of attacking land were: aircraft, naval guns, and marines.

More than a hundred aircraft had been shot down; the aircraft had been crippled!

The marines had been completely wiped out. Without new recruits to replenish their ranks, he shouldn't even think about using them for combat for the time being.

As for the naval guns, Conghua was too far away from the Fifth Fleet's warships; they simply couldn't reach it.

Did he want to rely on the army to avenge the navy? This was a great humiliation!

Commander Kōichi Shiozawa would rather not avenge those five thousand devils than allow the army to use such a reason for propaganda.

But the army was very willing to publicize this matter. They could finally put a spoke in the navy's wheel on one matter, and that was enough.

Division Commander Toshio Miyake received the order: "Be sure to defeat the opposing National Revolutionary Army, giving this incident a result that satisfies the devils."

Division Commander Toshio Miyake, who had already resolved to defeat the NRA troops in front of him, accepted this order that matched his own thoughts.

The infantry under his command were already marching towards the battlefield. As for the situation reports from Conghua County: two NRA units were attacking Conghua County.

"This is the NRA's 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao' plan; ignore them," Division Commander Toshio Miyake ordered.

He had plenty of troops at his disposal. Although the 107th Infantry Brigade under his command was being bombarded by the Special Operations Brigade, it didn't affect Division Commander Toshio Miyake's confidence.

This situation left Captain Kazumi Kudo and his artillery battalion somewhat at a loss, as they were completely unprepared. His artillery battalion only had three machine guns and thirty-odd rifles; the rest of the devils were all carrying pistols.

Regardless, Captain Kazumi Kudo had no choice but to order: "Establish a defensive line and resist!"

Machine gunner Yūki Akanishi heard the order, immediately lay down on the spot, and began firing at the charging NRA troops.

According to the news these devils had received from the infantry battalion: dealing with NRA soldiers was very simple; as long as the devils opened fire, they would run away.

Those NRA soldiers wouldn't even dare to fire back. With such wishful thinking, machine gunner Yūki Akanishi lay on the ground and fired a long burst.

His burst immediately attracted the attention of both sides; even Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya noticed that his side's first machine gun fire point had been established.

Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya said excitedly: "That's it, hit them hard! Each battalion immediately organize machine gunners and concentrate them to establish a defensive line."

He wasn't a fool, and didn't become complacent just because the devils under his command had established a defensive line.

Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya immediately reported the news of the artillery regiment's attack by the NRA to Division Commander Toshio Miyake. At the same time, another heavy artillery brigade was also reporting to Division Commander Toshio Miyake, requesting the division commander to send reinforcements.

The heavy artillery regiment didn't belong to the 104th Division; they had been transferred by Commander Kan'ichirō Koshō of the 20th Army Group to strengthen their firepower.

Now, the heavy artillery Regiment Commander Ryota Sawa's regiment was also under attack by the Second Regiment. These two artillery regiments had originally been marching one after the other. At the time, Division Commander Toshio Miyake's plan was to use these two artillery regiments together.

That way, they could achieve an effect greater than the sum of their parts. Now that these two artillery regiments were simultaneously under attack by NRA infantry units, Division Commander Toshio Miyake had to take it seriously.

He immediately ordered: "You must hold your ground! I will send troops to reinforce you immediately."

Division Commander Toshio Miyake had plenty of troops at his disposal. While replying to the telegram, he issued an order to Infantry Regiment Commander Ryūtarō Koga of the 170th Regiment to reinforce the artillery regiment.

Upon receiving the order, Regiment Commander Ryūtarō Koga, watching his troops struggling in the artillery fire, didn't dare to neglect it and immediately replied: "Received! Executing!"

His infantry regiment was in front of the artillery regiment. It was only when the artillery regiment was shelled an hour ago and stopped that the devils of Koga Ryūtarō's regiment didn't stop.

They continued to march forward, which was why the distance between the two units had widened. Now, he only needed to change the rear guard to the vanguard, ordering the Jirō Yamada Battalion, which was originally at the rear, to immediately reinforce the artillery regiment.

The remaining three battalions of his infantry regiment also followed behind, gradually encircling the NRA troops attacking the artillery regiment.

This time, Regiment Commander Ryūtarō Koga wanted to encircle and annihilate this NRA unit that was taking advantage of their misfortune.

Regiment Commander Ryūtarō Koga's plan was perfect, and the four battalion commanders under his command were all executing his plan.

The devils of the 104th Field Artillery Regiment, who were under attack, were currently suffering an unprecedented blow.

Machine gunner Yūki Akanishi was having a great time. As a machine gunner who had been following the artillery for years, he had never had the opportunity to fire live ammunition on the battlefield.

This time, he was going to have his fill!

And this fill was his death. As Yūki Akanishi fired his third magazine, he was killed by a mortar shell.

This left Captain Kazumi Kudo dumbfounded: who exactly was the artillery? These real artillery devils hadn't even fired a shot yet, and the opposing NRA infantry had actually taken the initiative to fire artillery.

Faced with the Special Operations Brigade's mortar bombardment, Captain Kazumi Kudo was powerless to resist. These devils hadn't even managed to reach the cannons, and could only silently swallow the shells that were constantly falling on them.

Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya was anxious and loudly ordered: "Charge towards the cannons! Where are our cannons?"

His regiment's cannons were only with the 92nd Infantry Cannons being dragged by the Takumi Fujiwara Battalion, following behind the 170th Infantry Regiment.

They were going to support the attack on the NRA troops in front. As for the rest of the cannons of the entire artillery regiment, because their power was too great, they hadn't had time to be converted into a combat state when the bombardment caused the devils to run away.

Now, these devils hadn't returned to the cannons yet, and even if they did return to the cannons, they wouldn't be able to fire for a while.

Because their cannons weren't ready yet! But whether they could return to the cannons was still a problem.

Second Regiment Commander Liu Laopao was urging the company commanders under his command to quickly charge towards the devils' cannons.

Even if their feet couldn't run fast enough, they had to use machine gun fire to block the cannons first, preventing the devils from getting close.

In fact, at such a close distance, no matter which side controlled the cannons, they wouldn't be able to bombard the other side. The distance was too close; the cannons couldn't reach.

First Company Commander Shi Junxia was currently leading his troops towards the devils' cannons. The First Company was the Second Regiment's spearhead; the important task of seizing the cannons was entrusted to them.

Their path forward wasn't smooth; the road was difficult to travel, and there was also resistance from the devils. Company Commander Shi had just directed the mortars to blow up the devils' machine guns.

In another location, a devils' machine gun rang out again. Shichirō Ikuta had taken the machine gun from Yūki Akanishi after he died, found a position, and continued to fire.

There were also a dozen or so rifles beside him, providing coordinated suppression. These devils had learned from their commander that the 170th Infantry Regiment was advancing towards them.

They only needed to hold out for ten minutes, and the 170th Infantry Regiment would arrive, and this NRA unit that had come to attack would be surrounded.

With such news supporting them, the fighting spirit of the devils of the entire Kazumi Kudo Battalion was high. They believed that ten minutes would pass quickly.

Company Commander Shi clearly didn't plan to give the devils ten minutes. Looking at the devils' machine gun fire point, he used the same old trick: "Anhui mortar bombardment! The troops in front continue to charge!" (Anhui refers to Wan Nan where the New Fourth Army was based)

The vanguard of the First Company was still six heavy machine guns. They pushed forward to block the hail of bullets fired by the devils, minimizing the casualties of the soldiers during the charge.

Xin Yongfu had always been a very good artilleryman. Having charged to this distance, he simply stopped charging. The mortar was right there; aiming at the devils' machine gun, he fired a three-round burst.

Seeing that the machine gun was no longer firing, he switched to another target, firing three more shells at a location with many devils.

Most of the devils of the Kazumi Kudo Battalion only had pistols; they could only gather together, trying to huddle together for warmth, or seeking some psychological comfort.

But their little needs were shattered by Xin Yongfu; wherever there were many devils, the shells would hit.

The First Company's charging speed was very fast. They were originally farther away from the cannons than the devils, but because the devils were subjected to fierce fire suppression when they charged towards the cannons.

Captain Kazumi Kudo's expression changed drastically when he saw that the entire regiment's artillery had been seized by the NRA. These devils were afraid that the NRA would immediately detonate these cannons.

If these cannons were destroyed, his career as an artillery battalion commander would be over. Thinking of this, he ordered: "Charge! Charge!"

These artillerymen actually launched a banzai charge. Not only his battalion, but the devils of the entire Shigeharu Toya Field Artillery Regiment received the order to charge.

Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya certainly knew the consequences of these cannons being destroyed. Devils without cannons had no reason to exist.

Therefore, he ordered nearly a thousand devils of the entire regiment to launch a banzai charge. Although these devils didn't have many rifles, they couldn't engage in bayonet fighting when they got close.

But these devils all had pistols, which was a great advantage in close combat.

Company Commander Shi Junxia loudly ordered: "Install explosives!"

He had the soldiers install directional mines, not to blow up the cannons, but to blow up these devils charging with the banzai tactic.

With the company commander's order, the soldiers immediately took action. At the same time, the First Company's various weapons didn't stop firing.

Type 92 infantry guns, mortars, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, machine guns, and rifles all fired at the densely charging devils.

A mortar shell could cause heavy casualties to the devils within a radius of thirty-five meters, and the devils' formation was dense. Every exploding shell could take the lives of a dozen or twenty devils.

At such a distance, rocket launchers were guaranteed to hit these devils. Similarly, everything within a radius of thirty meters would be wiped out.

Although the devils' formation was excessively dense, the rocket explosions couldn't kill all the devils within a radius of thirty meters.

But it could still cause huge casualties to the devils.

The key was that weapons like mortars and rocket launchers had a very fast firing rate. There were still seven or eight hundred devils charging.

By the time they charged out thirty meters, piles of corpses and wounded were left behind the devils.

By the time these devils charged to within a hundred meters of the temporary defensive line established by the First Company, less than three hundred devils could still persist in the charge.

On the road they charged, the fallen devils were continuous, completely able to connect into a bridge.

Although Regiment Commander Shigeharu Toya thought that without the cannons, these devils had no reason to exist.

When he really saw that six or seventy percent of the devils under his command had been killed or wounded, he began to regret it: even if they recovered the artillery now, there wouldn't be any artillerymen.

Then, he began to complain that the 170th Infantry Regiment was too slow: the battle was almost over, and the infantry hadn't arrived yet.

Were they passively avoiding battle?

This was really wronged Regiment Commander Ryūtarō Koga. As soon as he received the reinforcement order, he sent the nearest Jirō Yamada Battalion to reinforce.

But the Special Operations Brigade's artillery bombardment was too fierce. The devils of the Jirō Yamada Battalion suffered too many casualties when breaking through the artillery blockade line.

Of the entire battalion of one thousand two hundred devils, only five hundred devils remained after the breakthrough. Such casualties left Battalion Commander Jirō Yamada somewhat at a loss.

He temporarily rested the entire battalion, hoping to wait for those devils trapped in the artillery fire.

Obviously, this was just a self-deceptive idea. Those devils who didn't keep up were destined not to come out.

Battalion Commander Jirō Yamada delayed for only five minutes. After confirming that he couldn't wait for the devils to come out, he had to lead these five hundred devils to reinforce the artillery regiment.

What he never expected was that: on the highway, in such a short period of time, an NRA unit had established a defensive line, and machine guns and heavy machine guns were constantly sweeping.

If they hadn't just walked past this highway more than an hour ago, Battalion Commander Jirō Yamada would have suspected that the world had changed.

In front of his battalion was actually a well-built trench. How did this NRA unit dig out such a trench in such a short time?

No one answered!

Responding to the devils were bullets and shells. Defending here was the Tenth Company. Tenth Company Commander Hu Xiong was very happy; he could intercept the devils here.

Sniping devils was the easiest thing to do. Today, time was tight, and he couldn't deploy directional mines quickly. But he also deployed directional mines starting one hundred and fifty meters in front of the defensive line.

The environment of the entire battlefield was very suitable for deploying mines. This battlefield had shell craters everywhere, and was full of freshly upturned soil and rocks.

The directional mines only needed to be placed on the ground, and two handfuls of soil could be used to camouflage them slightly, so they wouldn't be discovered.

For the remaining five hundred devils of the Jirō Yamada Battalion, this battlefield was also a very good attacking site.

The battlefield, which was originally an open area, now had large and small shell craters everywhere.

As long as the devils jumped back and forth in these shell craters, they could avoid a lot of damage.

Veteran soldiers would pass on experience to each other: shells would not land in the same shell crater. Squad Leader Hyūga Takashima was loudly imparting such experience to the devils under his command.

In fact, even without this, the devils under his command would still be willing to jump into the pits.

After all, they could avoid the fierce machine gun fire from the opposite side in the shell craters. Especially those pits blasted out by one hundred and fifty millimeter large-caliber shells.

A pit was completely the best trench. Hiding here, as long as they didn't look up and didn't shoot, they wouldn't have to worry about being hit by the rain of bullets fired by the Special Operations Brigade.

Sergeant Ayumu Matsuyama and Sergeant Takeshi Inohara were now hiding in a shell crater with their rifles. They had tried three times to rush out and charge towards another shell crater a dozen meters ahead.

But the bullets sweeping overhead were too dense. Every time the two devils were ready, they would feel a chill on their heads, and the whistling of the bullets, carrying a terrifying aura, swept over the shell crater.

This caused them to retreat from the edge of the shell crater three times in a row.

Squad Leader Hyūga Takashima's order came: "Charge! Charge!"

The two devils, Ayumu Matsuyama and Takeshi Inohara, had to stick their heads out again, close their eyes, and rush out after hearing the squad leader's order. Sergeant Ayumu Matsuyama was unlucky; he was hit by a stray bullet after rushing out a few steps, and still struggled to move forward a few steps.

In the end, he was unable to escape. Sergeant Takeshi Inohara, following behind, watched Ayumu Matsuyama fall to the ground and struggle.