One man's resistance against Japan, I mobilized a million people to aid Shanghai.

The troops on the northern front continued their rapid advance northward, seeking an opportunity to move eastward.

A day later, the army arrived at the outskirts of Kamloops.

Kamloops is an inland city located at the confluence of the Thompson and South Thompson Rivers, and is a major transportation route to Vancouver.

The Maple Leaf Nation's army deployed the main force of its 2nd Infantry Brigade here, along with militia that had retreated from surrounding towns, totaling approximately 18,000 men.

The garrison commander was Brigadier General William Foster, commander of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, a veteran of World War I.

His strategy was clear: don't defend the city, defend the river.

Kamloops has three bridges: one railway bridge and two road bridges.

Before the Chinese army arrived, Foster blew up two road bridges, leaving only the railway bridge, and planted a large amount of explosives on it.

"What we need to do is not just defend the city."

He said at the pre-war meeting, "It's about buying time."

"With every hour we hold out, Vancouver's defenses become stronger, and with every hour we hold out, the Bald Eagles' reinforcements get closer."

"Therefore, we will make the Chinese bleed to death on both sides of the Thompson River."

At 7 a.m., the vanguard of the Chinese army arrived at the west bank of Kamloops.

This time it wasn't Zhao Tiezhu's mountain troops, but the real main force, the vanguard of the 2nd Army Group, a full 100,000 men, equipped with 300 artillery pieces.

The army group commander was Zhou Zhijun, a general known for his prudent approach.

He stood on the high ground on the west bank, observing the opposite bank with binoculars.

The Thompson River is about 300 meters wide here, and the current is rapid.

The only passage is the railway bridge, a steel structure about 400 meters long and only wide enough for one train to pass.

On the opposite bank, the Maple Leaf Kingdom's army had already constructed a comprehensive defensive fortification: bunkers along the riverbank, artillery positions halfway up the mountain, and... that conspicuous explosives control station at the bridgehead.

"They want to blow up the bridge when we get on it," the chief of staff deduced.

"Then don't go across the bridge."

Zhou Zhijun said:

"Sappers, build a pontoon bridge. Artillery, suppress fire from the opposite bank."

The Chinese engineering corps began operations.

But building a heavy pontoon bridge across a turbulent river is a difficult task in itself, not to mention the machine gun and artillery interference from the opposite bank.

The first set of floating bridge components was destroyed by a 25-pounder cannon on the opposite bank as soon as it was pushed into the water.

More than 30 engineers were killed or wounded.

"Artillery, return fire!" Zhou Zhijun ordered.

Three hundred cannons opened fire simultaneously, instantly covering the opposite bank's positions with artillery fire.

However, the Canadian artillery was very clever; they would fire a few shots and then move to a different position, making it difficult for the Chinese artillery to lock onto their targets.

The artillery battle lasted all morning.

At noon, the clones still hadn't erected their pontoon bridge, and instead lost twelve sets of components and more than two hundred engineers.

On the other side, the Maple Leaf Kingdom's garrison also suffered considerable casualties, but its main fortifications remained intact.

Zhou Zhijun realized that a direct assault would come at too high a cost.

He changed his strategy.

"Stop building the bridge."

"The troops dispersed along the riverbank, creating the illusion that they were looking for other crossing points."

He said, "At the same time, special forces were dispatched to swim across at night and destroy the explosives control station."

One hundred clones began their operation late that night.

But this is exactly what Foster has set up.

The Maple Leaf Kingdom's army deployed flares along the riverbank.

When the special forces team swam to the middle of the river, more than a dozen flares were launched into the air, illuminating the river surface as if it were daytime.

Immediately afterwards, the machine guns opened fire.

Fortunately, special forces soldiers can access their personal space; otherwise, all one hundred of them would probably have perished at the bottom of the river.

Even after entering the space, they had no way to cross the river, and the two sides remained separated by the river.

Zhou Zhijun tried everything.

Use smoke grenades to cover the bridge construction, and use artillery fire to cover the opposite bank...

But the Canadian troops remained firmly on the opposite bank, refusing to yield an inch.

A day passed, and the 200,000-strong army was blocked by a river 300 meters wide.

The next morning, things took a turn for the better.

They came not from the main battlefield, but from the north.

While Zhou Zhijun was locked in a stalemate with the Maple Leaf Army in Kamloops, another force dispatched by Li Xiangdong, the 5th Army of 300,000 men, detoured further north through the wilderness and crossed the almost uninhabited mountains, suddenly appearing in Prince George.

This is the largest city in northern British Columbia, but its defenses are extremely weak, with only a militia company of about two hundred men stationed there.

In the early morning, the 5th Army launched a surprise attack.

Two hundred militiamen put up a symbolic resistance for half an hour before surrendering.

After capturing Prince George's City, the Fifth Army immediately moved inland behind Kamloops.

In the afternoon, an armored train consisting of five armored carriages, carrying two thousand soldiers and fourteen artillery pieces, headed south along the Maple Leaf National Railway.

At this time, Brigadier General Foster of Kamloops was completely unaware of the threat from behind.

His full attention was focused on the main force of the Chinese army on the other side of the river.

At 8 p.m., the armored train arrived in the northern suburbs of Kamloops.

"Fire!"

All four cannons simultaneously opened fire on the rear positions of the Maple Leaf Nation's army.

The shell landed at the ammunition pile, triggering a series of explosions.

Immediately afterwards, two thousand clones disembarked and launched a surprise attack from behind.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Zhijun immediately ordered his troops to use their personal storage space to move behind Kamloops.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The 100,000-strong army vented all their pent-up resentment on the Maple Leaf Kingdom's garrison.

The Maple Leaf Kingdom's garrison was completely unprepared for the enemy to appear from behind, and was thrown into chaos.

"Brigade Commander! Enemy troops have appeared in the rear! There are at least 100,000 of them!" the staff officer reported in a panic.

"What??"

"This is impossible!!!"

Foster rushed to the roof of the command post and looked north through binoculars, where flames were shooting into the sky and explosions were happening incessantly.

"It's over... Kamloops can't hold on."

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he immediately ran to the communications room, grabbed the phone, and roared furiously:

"Blow up the bridge!! Blow up the bridge immediately!!"

But it was too late.

The Chinese soldiers who launched a surprise attack from the rear rushed to the explosives control station on the railway bridge immediately.

The ten Maple Leaf Nation engineers guarding the control station fought desperately, but were outnumbered and all perished.

At 8:47 p.m., the control station was captured, and the bridge bombing route was cut off.

Foster knew it was all over.

He walked out of the command post, straightened his uniform, then drew his pistol and pointed it at his temple.

"For the sake of Canada."

Gunshots echoed in the night.

The commander-in-chief committed suicide, the command post was destroyed, and the rear was attacked...

Kamloops' Maple Leaf garrison collapsed completely.

Some soldiers attempted to escape across the river but drowned in the swift current, while the remaining soldiers surrendered.

By the early morning of March 30, Kamloops had completely fallen.

In this battle, Zhou Zhijun was delayed for three days.

These three days were a matter of life and death for Vancouver.

During these three days, Vancouver established a fairly comprehensive defense.

Vancouver, the largest city on the west coast of Canada with a population of about 500,000, has now become a fortress.

Lieutenant General Curry, the western commander of the Maple Leaf Nation, withdrew all his forces, approximately 150,000 men, including regular troops and 130,000 militia, to downtown Vancouver.

The defense strategy was clear: use the Fraser River and urban buildings to hold Vancouver at all costs.

Li Xiangdong personally arrived at the front line and stood on the hillside to observe the city through binoculars.

The Fraser River is about 500 meters wide here, with three main bridges: the Lions Gate Bridge, the Second Channel Bridge, and the railway bridge further east.

The Maple Leaf Army has destroyed the railway bridge, planted explosives on two other bridges, and constructed dense fortifications on the north bank.

Chief of Staff Li Gan said, "The fortifications on the other side are complete; it seems they intend to fight to the death."

Li Xiangdong remained silent.

He wasn't worried about how tenacious the Canadian garrison was; he was worried about time.

Jia Gu sent an urgent telegram yesterday: the main attack on the central route is about to begin, and he requested that the northern front must contain the Eagle Army's reserve force.

However, the Hawk Army has only sent two divisions north to reinforce the US-Canada border, while its main force remains in the Rocky Mountains.

This means that the feint attack on the northern front was not "real" enough.

We must take Vancouver; we must convince the Bald Eagles that the Chinese army is truly going to break through the Rocky Mountains from here.

"Regardless of the cost."

Li Xiangdong finally spoke, "The final assault will begin at dawn tomorrow."