Chapter 1 The Battlefield

The entire Jigong Ridge battlefield was like this: Japanese soldiers fell one after another, while the Third and Fourth Company soldiers suffered few injuries.

Captain Tanaka Hyuga commanded from the rear, and he quickly noticed the problem: his men were dwindling, and some Japanese soldiers even glanced left and right as they charged forward.

Such a situation had never occurred in his previous battles. Japanese soldiers should charge straight ahead; what were they thinking, looking left and right?

Captain Tanaka Hyuga raised his voice, wanting to assert his presence and ensure his men didn't entertain other thoughts.

No matter how hard Captain Tanaka's troops tried, their efforts were in vain due to their inferior strength.

The Japanese soldiers fell one by one, and those at the front were the bravest and most daring in the entire battalion.

When they fell, the replacements were not only demoralized but also lacked the same fighting skills.

Conversely, the soldiers of the Third and Fourth Companies, despite having no rest all night, found fighting the Japanese with bayonets as easy as chopping vegetables. Their morale soared, and even the "kill!" they shouted as they thrust their bayonets carried more force.

The shouts of "kill!" echoed through the nearby valleys, leaving the retreating soldiers of the Sixtieth Division wondering where they came from.

Decades later, local villagers would say that during thunderstorms in September each year, they could still hear the echoes of "kill!" in the valleys.

Captain Tanaka Hyuga's troops dwindled. When the remaining soldiers numbered less than the Third and Fourth Companies, Captain Tanaka Hyuga saw the inevitable defeat.

However, he refused to concede, personally leading his guards forward with his saber.

These men, originally farmers, small merchants, and fishermen from the lowest rungs of society, had joined the Japanese army through constant propaganda and brainwashing.

In just a few years, they had forgotten all principles of humanity, with arson, murder, and looting becoming their instincts. Today, facing formidable opponents like the Third and Fourth Companies, even those who hesitated were rebuked by Captain Tanaka Hyuga.

Not a single soldier from the entire battalion fled; they all died on Jigong Ridge.

At 6:43 a.m., the Second War Area Command received a telegram from the Special Operations Brigade: "Our brigade's Second Regiment, First Company, launched an attack on the Japanese troops at Qilin Peak at 6:00 a.m., and completely annihilated Yamaguchi Masato's battalion of over eight hundred men at 6:35 a.m. The entire Qilin Peak is now under the control of our First Company.

Our brigade's Second Regiment, Second Company, launched an attack on the eastern section of Baishui Street at 6:00 a.m., driving Kamiki Yuya's battalion of the 123rd Regiment of the Japanese 106th Division out of Baishui Street at 6:30 a.m.

Our brigade's Second Regiment, Third and Fourth Companies, launched an attack on Jigong Ridge on the Ruiwu Highway at 6:00 a.m., completely occupying Jigong Ridge at 6:40 a.m., and annihilating Tanaka Hyuga's battalion of seven hundred men."

The Second War Area Command could hardly believe the authenticity of the telegram.

Fortunately, the front-line telephone was still working, and they immediately called to verify the situation. Although the Sixtieth Division of the National Revolutionary Army had retreated from this line, there were still National Revolutionary Army units in the surrounding area.

They received confirmation that Jigong Ridge had indeed been retaken by friendly forces, and that these troops were still advancing towards Ruichang!

This news astonished the commander of the Second War Area, Xue Yue, who personally called Lin Fan to confirm.

Lin Fan clearly stated his intentions: "To sever any thought of the 106th Division joining forces with the 27th Division, the Special Operations Brigade will counter-attack along the Ruiwu Highway towards Ruichang. Our first objective is to occupy Xiao'ao, pushing back the offensive of the Japanese 27th Division and leaving the 106th Division no room for maneuver."

Lin Fan, of course, confirmed the reported battle results.

Xue Yue still doubted whether the Special Operations Brigade had only used four infantry companies. Lin Fan quickly added: the artillery company also participated in the battle.

The entire Second War Area Operations Command held its breath as Xue Yue made the call.

Everyone could sense Lin Fan's confidence from his tone.

When Xue Yue hung up, a staff officer couldn't help but say, "This Brigade Commander Lin is too arrogant. Can operational plans be decided like that?"

Xue Yue glanced at him, "If any unit in the Second War Area believes it can independently push back a Japanese division, I welcome them to speak to me like that."

After the reprimand, he walked to the map, still puzzled, "How can a company annihilate eight hundred Japanese soldiers?"

He had been fighting the 27th Division for so long and knew its combat strength. It was a unit that wouldn't stop attacking until every soldier was exhausted. They possessed a reckless courage.

Even as an opponent, Xue Yue acknowledged the Japanese soldiers' daring spirit. His own troops were also willing to fight to the death, but the difference in weaponry was too great, and their sacrifices couldn't completely stop the Japanese offensive.

Yet, the Special Operations Brigade, having just arrived and after a night of forced marching, could pull off such a brilliant victory. No wonder the President was wary of them.

Since the Special Operations Brigade had achieved the objective of separating the two Japanese divisions, Xue Yue resolved to teach the Japanese a lesson here.

Lieutenant General Matsuura Junroku, commander of the Japanese 106th Division, studied the map and calculated: the Second War Area was defending along the De'an line, and his division was now penetrating westward from Mahuiling. Having just broken through Wutailing yesterday, they only needed to cross Wanjiangling to appear behind the National Revolutionary Army's De'an defense line.

If they could penetrate behind the Second War Area's De'an defense line, they could cut off the main force's retreat.

What followed would be the annihilation of the Second War Area's main force within the encirclement.

Danger and opportunity coexisted. Lieutenant General Matsuura Junroku had yet to realize the extent of the danger he faced.

Although the attempt to join forces with the 27th Division had been thwarted, he didn't pay much attention: he ordered the 27th Division to advance along the Ruiwu Highway, first occupying Ruoxi, and then creating a larger encirclement to trap the National Revolutionary Army units blocking his advance. This would collapse the entire southwest defense line of Wuhan.

With such a perfect plan, Lieutenant General Matsuura Junroku ordered the entire division to advance into Wanjiangling, Leiminggu Liu, Shibao Mountain, Nantianpu, Beixi Street, Dunshang Guo, planning to break out of this mountainous area and reach Zhelin tomorrow, thus achieving the first step of the plan and appearing behind the National Revolutionary Army.

With the divisional commander's order, the Japanese soldiers immediately executed it. Although the weather wasn't good today, with dark clouds overhead and fog rising from the ground, visibility was poor in the mountains. This couldn't stop the march of the Japanese 106th Division, determined to encircle the Second War Area.

In another direction, Lieutenant General Ochiai Kujiro of the Japanese 27th Division was very dissatisfied with losing two hilltops in one morning.

He immediately ordered Colonel Ono Osamu, commander of the 3rd Regiment, to retake the lost positions immediately.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Ochiai Kujiro requested Commander Okamura Neiji to send aircraft to assist in the battle.

In this area, both sides were marching according to their own plans. The Second War Area sent a unit to penetrate behind Wutailing, cutting off the Japanese supply lines.

At the same time, they urgently transferred troops from the Dexing, Nanxun, and Ruiwu defense lines to Wanjiangling.

Xue Yue had decided to fight a decisive battle of annihilation here.

Lin Fan was unaware of the operational plans of both sides today. He was simply fighting according to his own ideas.

After the First Company captured Qilin Peak, the positions on both the left and right flanks were in the hands of the Special Operations Brigade, making the small hilltop practically useless.

With the Japanese troops to the east and west of Qilin Peak driven away, Lin Fan ordered the Second Regiment to continue pressing forward.

The soldiers of the Second Regiment pressed forward along the entire line. If this plan succeeded, the Special Operations Brigade's defense line would protrude beyond the planned defense line of the entire Second War Area.

At this time, the Japanese 27th Division's 3rd Regiment also began to counterattack. They first used artillery to bombard Qilin Peak with poison gas shells, and then more than twenty aircraft flew in this direction.

Seeing the planes, Company Commander Jiang said excitedly to Major Chang, "Old Chang! Watch carefully, don't blink."

Chang Wende saw that the Special Operations Brigade soldiers around him were not afraid of the approaching Japanese planes. Instead, they were excited.

He also noticed the difference. Brigade Commander Lin was already standing in front of the anti-aircraft gun, the muzzle pointed in the direction of the approaching enemy aircraft.

Feng Junya had been following Lin Fan to provide support for these two anti-aircraft guns. Now it was time for Lin Fan to perform again.

As the Japanese planes roared down towards Qilin Peak from high altitude, Chang Wende heard the cannon behind him fire.

One after another, shells flew towards the enemy aircraft. The Special Operations Brigade had anti-aircraft guns; this was truly remarkable.

The entire Second War Area didn't even have anti-aircraft guns. When the Japanese planes came, the National Revolutionary Army soldiers could only endure in silence, without any weapons to fight back.

Today was different. The anti-aircraft gun behind him continuously fired at the enemy aircraft, which already made Chang Wende feel very excited.

Next, he saw the enemy aircraft exploding in the sky one after another like fireworks. This was...

Chang Wende couldn't believe what was happening in the sky was real. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the sky again.

In just a short time, more than a dozen enemy aircraft had exploded, and the remaining enemy aircraft began to fly erratically.

Captain Ikuta Yasuuke of the Flying Squadron also couldn't believe his eyes. Today, he was leading the entire squadron to carry out an air support mission for the 27th Division. They had done such missions yesterday and the day before.

And it was always the same target: Qilin Peak!

Having carried out the mission again and again, the Japanese soldiers of the entire squadron were very familiar with the terrain here. Even if the flying conditions were poor today, with a bit of poor visibility, it didn't affect their actions in the slightest.

Arriving over Qilin Peak, everything was normal. The planes in front began to dive, and everything was still normal.

Right after these normal events, the plane in the lead suddenly exploded, exploding without any warning.

Pilot Uchiyama Kazuo started the bad omen. After his plane exploded, the planes behind him exploded one after another as if they had been infected with a disease.

Of course, airplanes don't get sick. Captain Ikuta Yasuuke, at the very back of the entire squadron, saw a fiery tongue shooting straight into the sky from the ground in the distance.

Like a red chain, it directly connected to these planes in the sky, and any plane targeted by it exploded.

Captain Ikuta Yasuuke ordered: "There is a National Revolutionary Army high-altitude gun in the southwest direction, go bomb it!"

His squadron had twenty-seven aircraft today, and although more than a dozen had been shot down, there were still a majority of aircraft that could be used.

Hearing Captain Ikuta Yasuuke's order, all the remaining enemy aircraft in the sky looked in the southwest direction and rushed over.

They only took one look and discovered the anti-aircraft gun that was still firing. All these Japanese pilots could see was one high-altitude gun firing.

Their panicked hearts immediately calmed down. Just one gun! All the planes rushed towards Lin Fan's position.

Miyamoto Rokuro, piloting a fighter plane, flew in the lead. He had been flying further back in the entire squadron and had not yet begun to dive over Qilin Peak, so it was easier to change targets.

Chang Wende, seeing that more than a dozen enemy aircraft had been shot down, shouted excitedly. Suddenly, he discovered the enemy aircraft were rushing towards this direction and shouted anxiously: "The enemy aircraft are coming!"

Company Commander Jiang smiled without saying a word, calmly watching the performance of the enemy aircraft in the sky, and didn't even give the order for the entire company to disperse and hide.

Chang Wende's heart was in his throat. This time it wasn't just one enemy aircraft, but all the Japanese planes were rushing towards this direction.

Their purpose was self-evident; they must be rushing towards the high-altitude gun. Chang Wende was anxious, but found that the soldiers around him were still pointing at the enemy aircraft and laughing.

These soldiers really had too much confidence in their brigade commander.

Lin Fan didn't panic either. He operated the high-altitude gun and fired another burst of shots. The sound of "dong, dong, dong" continued incessantly.

Miyamoto Rokuro, flying at the very front in the sky, had already turned into a ball of fire, and the three planes flying side-by-side with him exploded in the same way.

The planes that were some distance behind Miyamoto Rokuro and the others couldn't dodge in time at this moment and all plunged into the clusters of fragments produced by the exploding planes.

Captain Ikuta Yasuuke was still at the rear, and he watched seven or eight more planes explode in mid-air, with several other planes trailing black smoke as they fell to the ground.

At this time, he didn't dare to continue flying over to strike the high-altitude gun on the ground. Captain Ikuta Yasuuke issued the order in a panic: "Retreat! Cancel the attack mission! The National Revolutionary Army is too ferocious."

His order was issued too late. Only five aircraft in the entire Ikuta Aviation Squadron were still flying in the sky, and Sekiya Nagahiro immediately began to turn around after receiving the order.

Just as he had this thought, the plane exploded. Captain Ikuta Yasuuke was the same.

Chang Wende stared blankly at the sky with not a single plane in sight, dumbfounded. It was too easy, too effortless.

The Sixth Reserve Division of the National Revolutionary Army, a few miles away from the Special Operations Brigade's defense line, saw the planes in the sky explode one after another, and not a single enemy aircraft escaped.

The excited Sixth Reserve Division immediately called the Special Operations Brigade to congratulate them, and also reported the news to the Second War Area Command.

Xue Yue had just ordered the troops who were carrying out guerrilla warfare behind the Japanese 106th Division to attack and cut off the Japanese supply lines.

Now he received the news from the Sixth Reserve Division: "Twenty-seven Japanese aircraft shot down in the Qilin Peak direction."

Such news silenced the entire command headquarters once again, and all the personnel stopped talking.

They were afraid that if they opened their mouths, the news would change.

In the phone, Division Commander Chen of the Sixth Reserve Division was still excitedly reporting: "The Special Operations Brigade doesn't know what kind of anti-aircraft weapons they have.

Every shot hits, from the enemy aircraft beginning to dive to the complete annihilation, the total time was less than two minutes, and all twenty-seven enemy aircraft were destroyed.

Commander Xue! What kind of anti-aircraft weapons is the Special Operations Brigade equipped with? Can some be allocated to our brother troops too!"

Xue Yue had seen the Special Operations Brigade's anti-aircraft weapons last night, there were two types, one was two German-imported eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft guns, and the other was two anti-aircraft machine gun companies.

Now Xue Yue didn't know what weapons they used to shoot down the enemy aircraft. He could only explain to Division Commander Chen with a wry smile: "Old Brother Chen! You know that the Special Operations Brigade belongs to the Fifth War Area.

They only came last night, so I don't know exactly what weapons and equipment they have. I'll call now to find out."

In fact, Xue Yue was also very curious: what did the Special Operations Brigade use to shoot down the enemy aircraft?

The commander had already said that he would call the Special Operations Brigade to find out. The staff officer next to him was immediately connecting the call.

Hearing Lin Fan's voice on the other end, Xue Yue was very happy. He went straight to the point and asked: "The Sixth Reserve Division just called to report that you shot down twenty-seven enemy aircraft?"

Lin Fan replied with one word: "Yes!"

"The brother units are very interested in what weapons you used to shoot down the enemy aircraft, and I also want to know so I can see if we can equip our troops with them."

"German-imported eighty-eight-millimeter anti-aircraft guns." Lin Fan replied concisely.

"I only saw two anti-aircraft guns last night, and that's how you shot down twenty-seven Japanese planes?" Xue Yue already felt that something was wrong.

The National Revolutionary Army imported twenty of these guns before the war, and he hadn't heard of them being particularly effective against the enemy.

"Commander Xue! We only used one gun, there's no secret, you just have to be accurate." Lin Fan said casually.

Everyone at the Second War Area Command heard it clearly, and Division Commander Chen also heard it clearly through the microphone.

What do you mean "just have to be accurate?" How difficult is it to be accurate! Especially on the battlefield, it's even harder to be accurate.

Don't look at those athletes in shooting competitions hitting the bullseye every time. You don't know if they can hit the enemy on the battlefield.

Even the soldiers in the unit who specialize in performing shooting skills can only hit one Japanese soldier with five shots during actual combat.

And that's just shooting. If they really had that level of skill, wouldn't they be able to annihilate an entire Japanese company in a few minutes with a machine gun?

This was just shooting a gun. If they really had that level, one person operating a machine gun could wipe out a company of Japanese soldiers in a matter of minutes, right?

Xue Yue asked: "Which gunner in your brigade achieved such results? Can you lend him to the Second War Area? The Japanese planes are really giving us a hard time."

Lin Fan said with a smile, "The entire Special Operations Brigade is in the Second War Area. I am at your disposal, Commander Xue."

"It's you!" Xue Yue understood; the gunner was Lin Fan himself. How could he borrow him in that case?

Since the conversation had come this far, Xue Yue asked: "Brigade Commander Lin! Does your brigade have any other gunners who are as good as you?"

This put Lin Fan in a difficult position. He had to admit, "No! I have also trained some, using up thousands of shells, but I could only train a group of gunners who can shoot down a few enemy aircraft, but I couldn't train a divine gunner who can hit every shot."

Hearing this, Xue Yue wasn't too disappointed. After all, such people were rare. It would be good if the Second War Area could use one right now.

He said solemnly, "Brigade Commander Lin! In the future, if Japanese planes fly over your brigade's airspace again, or fly over other brother units' airspace.

As long as you can shoot them down, be sure not to let a single enemy aircraft escape."

"Yes! Commander Xue, rest assured, I guarantee that not a single enemy aircraft will fly out of range of our high-altitude guns."

"Good! Good!" Xue Yue said several times.

After hanging up the phone, he immediately sent the good news this morning to Wuhan. Chiang Kai-shek had just finished breakfast and walked into his office.

His aide-de-camp had already presented the telegram from Xue Yue. Seeing that the two Japanese divisions had been separated and temporarily unable to join forces,

Chiang Kai-shek was very happy. He instructed, "The enemy 106th Division is isolated and has penetrated deep; it is a good opportunity to annihilate them.

Be sure to gather superior forces and annihilate the enemy!"

Seeing that twenty-seven enemy aircraft had been destroyed, an admiring look appeared in his eyes. Lin Fan had just sent a hundred planes yesterday, and today he shot down twenty-seven Japanese planes.

With the enemy losing aircraft and his side gaining them, the comparison of air power was still in favor of the Japanese, but their advantage was no longer so obvious.

Admirable as it was, the rewards were for the Second War Area, and the Special Operations Brigade received no reward!

Colonel Murakami Seiichi, commander of the Japanese 27th Mountain Artillery Regiment, ordered his artillery to conduct a saturation bombardment of Qilin Peak, while also adding two hundred poison gas shells to the mix.

At this time, the First Company had already come down from Qilin Peak and was marching towards the Hubei Reservoir to the north.

The anti-aircraft machine gun company that was originally stationed on Qilin Peak also didn't go up because the location no longer had strategic value.

This allowed the Japanese to unleash their fierce bombardment to no avail.

Colonel Ono Osamu, commander of the Japanese 27th Division's 3rd Regiment, now had only two infantry battalions at his disposal.

He had to send out these last two battalions. Battalion Commander Matsushita Yuuta led the 3rd Battalion to attack Jigong Ridge.

Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki led the 4th Battalion to attack Qilin Peak. These two units set out from Xiao'ao and advanced along two routes towards their respective targets.

Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki sent the Oneshin Mine Detachment as the vanguard, charging in the lead.

Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon once again served as the vanguard of the entire detachment, always walking in the lead. They set out from Xiao'ao, bypassed the Hubei Reservoir, and encountered the advancing First Company.

Completely unprepared, Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon of Japanese soldiers responded hastily, immediately going prone and began shooting at the oncoming First Company.

The First Company's charging formation was the same as before: six heavy machine guns at the front, serving as both firepower and shields.

When the Japanese soldiers in front began firing, the six heavy machine guns didn't stop at all, continuing to charge forward. Commander Shi Junxia was also ordering, "Charge into the Japanese ranks."

Guo Juncai had never seen such a way of fighting: a forced march all night, capturing Qilin Peak was already good, they should take what they could get and defend Qilin Peak.

He didn't expect that this unit would actually come down the mountain, and Qilin Peak, which the National Revolutionary Army and the Japanese soldiers had fought so fiercely over a few days ago, was given up so easily.

This unit was still continuing to charge forward. Now that they encountered the Japanese soldiers on the plains, they were actually charging like in cold weapon warfare.

They certainly had enough courage!

Guo Juncai thought a lot, but he still followed behind the First Company's heavy machine guns.

He didn't want to leave this unit anymore. Although following them was always a bit nerve-wracking, he couldn't deny that watching them fight the Japanese was very gratifying.

And the First Company Commander also said, "They don't know anything about the terrain in this area, so we must have a guide."

Just like they were now, if they wanted to attack the Japanese soldiers, they had to know the direction even if they knew the name of the place.

As soon as the soldiers of Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon made contact with the First Company, the platoon leader immediately knew that the situation was bad.

The two sides discovered each other at a distance of about two hundred meters. His side was establishing a defensive line, but the other side charged straight up without saying a word.

The key point was that they had now charged to within a range of less than one hundred meters.

Without trenches or fortifications, a defensive line facing the sweep of six heavy machine guns was very difficult to endure.

Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon leader sent a soldier back to request reinforcements while ordering, "Sergeant Uehara! Take out their heavy machine guns."

If he could take out the six heavy machine guns on the other side, it would be very beneficial to Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon's defense.

Now he had put aside the task of attacking Qilin Peak and had to defend this line first.

Uehara Masahiro was a grenade launcher, and after receiving the order from Platoon Leader Smoke Hayashi, he immediately fired the first grenade.

It was a bit off and didn't hit. The grenade exploded next to a heavy machine gun and had already attracted the attention of the First Company soldiers.

Without the company commander giving the order, the five mortars of the First Company were already set up, bombing the position where the Japanese soldiers had fired the grenade launcher.

Three rockets were also fired in that direction, and two Type 92 infantry guns also aimed at the position and began to bombard it.

The First Company would never give any weapon that could threaten the heavy machine guns a chance to live for even a second longer.

Guo Juncai saw the grenade fly out from the opposite side, and then that position was a flash of fire.

The explosions of "rumble, rumble!" were incessant. The First Company's reaction was quite rapid, not giving Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon any time to react.

Uehara Masahiro, who was still preparing to adjust and immediately fire the second grenade, saw shells falling around him.

He of course understood that the shells fired by the attacking unit on the opposite side were all aimed at him.

Uehara Masahiro quickly retreated, but his retreat route was not easy to find.

Although he could hide in the crater that had just been blasted out, the area was already filled with smoke, and he couldn't see the figures of the attacking unit at all. Under these circumstances, trying to continue attacking the other side was a pipe dream.

After wasting more than ten seconds, the six heavy machine guns of the First Company charging forward had already reached close range.

The Japanese soldiers of Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon, who had just gone prone on the ground and hadn't fired a few shots, had to hastily get up,

And engage the charging First Company soldiers with bayonets. Guo Juncai saw that in less than an hour, melee combat had started again on the battlefield.

Captain Oneshin Mine, following behind Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon, was startled by the sudden burst of firepower from the First Company.

Could this unit they encountered today be the elite of the National Revolutionary Army? Their firepower was so strong!

While he was still thinking of a countermeasure, Smoke Hayashi Kensuke's platoon had already started melee combat with the First Company.

This stopped all of Captain Oneshin Mine's thoughts, and he issued the order to charge without any hesitation.

He wanted the entire detachment to charge up and engage the other side in melee combat. The other side only had more than a hundred soldiers, while his side had one hundred and seventy Japanese soldiers. No matter what, they would win completely!

Guo Juncai was just about to rush up and join the melee when he was stopped by a heavy machine gunner.

Shi Junxia had specifically instructed him to protect the guide, since he was the only one in the entire company who knew the way.

Stopped by the heavy machine gunner, Guo Juncai thought about what had happened on Qilin Peak. The First Company had annihilated more than four hundred Japanese soldiers in melee combat, so there would definitely be no problem here with only one hundred and some Japanese soldiers.

Thinking of this, he relaxed a lot. At this moment, he heard the sound of "tuk, tuk, tuk" of the heavy machine guns.

The mortars and infantry guns behind them were also firing, and his just-relaxed heart rose again.

The smoke that the First Company had just blasted out had now dissipated a bit, and he could see that a large number of Japanese soldiers were charging towards them in the distance.

The First Company's heavy machine guns, mortars, and mortar guns were all firing at the charging Japanese soldiers.

Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki's mission was to attack Qilin Peak, and the unit had only just passed the Hubei Reservoir and could only see Qilin Peak.

The Oneshin Mine Detachment in front of them encountered a National Revolutionary Army ambush, which made Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki very uncomfortable: the National Revolutionary Army rarely attacked proactively, they always set up positions on the hillside, waiting for the Japanese soldiers to attack.

The sun had risen from the west today! But Takeda Kazuki liked this situation.

Attacking a prepared position was definitely more difficult than suddenly encountering them in the wild.

At least in a wild encounter, both sides were equal, with no preparation, no fortifications or trenches, which was very beneficial to the Japanese soldiers who had superior weapons and soldiers.

Now seeing that they had become entangled and started melee combat, Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki didn't think about anything and immediately ordered: "Charge! Annihilate them!"

From his perspective, although he couldn't see exactly how many people were in the First Company, he could roughly estimate that they were definitely not many.

This unit must be a small force sent out by the National Revolutionary Army to harass them, and it was discovered by the Oneshin Mine Detachment.

Having figured this out, Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki personally led the entire battalion to launch a charge.

The entire battalion had just launched the charge for less than a minute when they were subjected to fierce artillery bombardment and machine gun fire.

The sudden attack made Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki a little stunned: Hadn't the Oneshin Mine Detachment completely entangled the other side?

At this time, he still didn't know that the Oneshin Mine Detachment was being suppressed and killed by the First Company.

Company Commander Shi Junxia of the First Company heard the machine guns and cannons of his own company firing behind him and tried hard to look forward to understand the situation on the opposite side.

However, there were several rows of Japanese soldiers in front of him, blocking his view, and he couldn't see the Japanese reinforcements charging up at all.

Guo Juncai, who was a little further away, became anxious: "Many Japanese soldiers are charging up!"

He could only say this sentence. At this time, the enemy and his side were engaging in melee combat, and whoever retreated first would suffer.

Moreover, judging from his understanding of the First Company over this night's march, they would never retreat.

What to do?

Relying only on heavy machine guns and mortars could only inflict heavy casualties on the Japanese soldiers in the rear, but they couldn't stop them from approaching the battlefield.

Guo Juncai couldn't bear it any longer and rushed into the battlefield with his rifle. He rushed behind Company Commander Shi Junxia and said loudly, "Company Commander Shi! There are several hundred Japanese soldiers charging up from the front."

Company Commander Shi was stunned after hearing his report and immediately roared: "Platoon Leader: Plan Three."

Platoon Leader Jing Li Quan ordered loudly: "Platoon! Full Plan."

Guo Juncai saw some soldiers on the battlefield withdraw from the front line of melee combat, took out a square cloth bag from their backs, and placed it casually on the ground.

People were shouting all over the battlefield: "Number One is set up, Number Two is set up..."

Such reports continued until Number Nine.

At this time, Company Commander Shi shouted loudly, "Alternate cover, retreat thirty meters."

The soldiers of the First Company were all shouting on the battlefield, "Alternate cover, retreat thirty meters."

At this time, Company Commander Shi said to Guo Juncai, "You retreat first!"

"I!" Guo Juncai wanted to insist.

"Retreat!" Company Commander Shi's voice suddenly became stern, and Guo Juncai was startled by his momentum and quickly retreated.

He didn't dare to turn around and run, fearing that Japanese soldiers would rush over from behind and attack him. He carefully retreated backwards like this.

As the soldiers of the First Company retreated, the field of fire of the heavy machine guns was blocked. Without the sweep of the heavy machine guns, the Japanese soldiers of the Noe Takeda Battalion charged more smoothly.

The Japanese soldiers of the Oneshin Mine Detachment were most encouraged when the soldiers of the First Company shouted, "Alternate cover, retreat thirty meters."

They were all farmers who had come to this place to occupy the land, and they could already understand a lot of the language here. All these Japanese soldiers understood the jargon of the battlefield.

Kobayashi Juro, a squad leader, understood the order issued by the company commander of the First Company and shouted happily: "They are going to run away! Everyone, charge!"

He also quickened his pace to rush up, and these Japanese soldiers found that the soldiers of the First Company, who had been charging forward just now, were really retreating backwards.

The Japanese soldiers of the Oneshin Mine Detachment became excited one by one and all howled, and their bayonets were more forceful when they attacked.

The soldiers of the First Company retreated without chaos, and they knew what to do. The company commander had said Plan Three!

Everyone knew what was going to happen next. Even when they were retreating, each soldier didn't stop stabbing the Japanese soldiers.

It was just that now, after stabbing a Japanese soldier, they didn't continue to chase and kill, but the Japanese soldiers now chased up without stopping.

The Japanese soldiers of the Oneshin Mine Detachment were afraid that the First Company would run away, and they were unwilling to give up such an opportunity to annihilate the National Revolutionary Army.

The two sides had been fighting head-on for so long. Although the two countries had not officially declared war, in reality, the situation on the battlefield was already a life-and-death struggle.

Whenever there was a chance, the National Revolutionary Army would not let the Japanese soldiers go, and the Japanese soldiers would not let the National Revolutionary Army go either.

The Japanese soldiers of the Takeda Kazuki Battalion finally rushed past the area of artillery bombardment, and their position was now only about twenty meters away from the battlefield of the melee. The shells of the First Company could no longer continue to bombard them, and if they bombarded them again, they would hurt their own people by mistake.

Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki stopped his steps, drew his command sword, and shouted loudly at the chaotic battlefield: "Kill!"

His posture was quite majestic, and the Japanese soldiers of the entire Takeda Battalion were greatly encouraged, and one by one they quickened their pace for the final sprint.

They now had seven or eight hundred Japanese soldiers, but there were only less than two hundred National Revolutionary Army soldiers on the other side, so this melee combat would be a sure win!

These Japanese soldiers, whose morale was greatly boosted, swarmed up! Some Japanese soldiers had already reached the bottom line of Platoon Leader Jing.

Ever since receiving the order for Plan Three from the company commander, Platoon Leader Jing had been under the protection of several soldiers and had not continued to participate in the melee.

Now was the time for him to issue the order: "Detonate!"

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, Platoon Leader Jing had used all his energy to shout out this word.

Both sides clearly heard this order on the battlefield, which was filled with shouts of killing. The soldiers of the First Company of course knew what the situation was.

At this time, Guo Juncai, who had retreated back to the heavy machine guns, also heard this order. He didn't understand what kind of order this was.

Three seconds later: the explosions of "rumble, rumble!" were incessant.

Guo Juncai understood. He was standing in the rear and could clearly see the nine clusters of gunpowder smoke mixed with bloody rain rising together on the battlefield, splattering.

Recalling the nine reports on the battlefield just now, he now understood that the First Company was planting landmines during the melee.

As the rumbling explosions sounded, the sound of iron pellets whistling through the air could be heard everywhere on the battlefield.

Battalion Commander Takeda Kazuki's posture was still as majestic as before, but several small blood holes suddenly appeared on his face.

Among these blood holes, some were spraying out a stream of blood, while others were only oozing blood.

There were more such blood holes on his body, and the momentum of the Japanese soldiers of the entire Takeda Battalion charging up from behind, and the Japanese soldiers of the Oneshin Mine Detachment who were just frightened by the explosions in front of them, froze, and their fighting spirit seemed to have been blown away by this explosion.

The charging Japanese soldiers stopped, and the voice of the First Company Commander Shi Junxia sounded again: "Charge!" There was only one word.

The soldiers of the First Company, who had been fighting and retreating just now, suddenly turned from retreat to advance, stabbing at the Japanese