Blood-Red Front

The newly promoted army's mountain artillery company normally had 240 rounds of ammunition, averaging only 60 rounds per gun.

They cannot sustain prolonged attrition until the arrival of the subsequent supply train.

Therefore, after striking the designated positions for half an hour, the mountain artillery company gradually reduced its frequency and began to extend towards the rear positions of the 6th Regiment.

Although it only lasted half an hour and the firing frequency of the nascent artillery was not high, more than one hundred shells still landed on the 6th Regiment's position.

Due to time constraints, the fortifications on the front lines of the 6th Regiment were mostly earthen, with very few wooden supports, making them unable to withstand the intense artillery fire. A large number of ground fortifications were destroyed.

Imai, who had been observing the situation through his binoculars, saw the artillery fire begin to spread and waved his hand to give the order to attack.

"The 2nd Company advances, the heavy machine gun company provides full cover, and the artillery platoon prepares for sustained fire."

Previously, the infantry artillery platoon of the first battalion suffered heavy casualties from a barrage of fire, but the loss of artillery shells was not significant.

After the two squads gathered their shells, Imai had nearly 400 shells, enough for the two infantry guns to fire for a long time.

As the newly promoted infantry advanced, grenade launchers and infantry gun shells continuously rained down on the 6th Regiment's positions.

Grenade launchers and infantry guns are less powerful than mountain guns, but the soldiers now need to provide continuous firepower on the front lines and cannot hide in artillery shelters as before. As a result, casualties are actually greater than during previous artillery bombardments.

The young and strong stretcher team risked their lives to carry the stretchers forward and continuously transport the wounded to the rear.

This time, Imai was really going all out. After the 2nd Company approached the river, they kept exchanging fire with the 6th Regiment across the river, showing no intention of retreating.

The two sides remained deadlocked for several tens of minutes, and the infantry guns began to overheat due to continuous firing.

Finally, Imai felt it was about time and turned to order, "Fire smoke grenades! Landing craft squadrons, advance immediately and prepare to escort the 2nd Company across the river!"

Imai planned to use smoke bombs to obscure the Xia army's vision and then quickly cross the river.

Upon seeing the plumes of white smoke suddenly rising from the front lines, Lin Zhiyuan immediately understood Chu Shengjun's plan.

"Call the Third Battalion and tell them to prepare for hand-to-hand combat. As soon as the enemy lands, launch a counter-offensive and drive them back into the river."

"The mountain artillery battalion, prepare for artillery fire and await my orders."

At this moment, Chu Shengjun had already taken advantage of Xia Jun losing sight of him and quickly rushed to the riverbank, rowing the landing craft frantically.

Under the cover of smoke bombs, the initial attack of the SS was very successful, and the crossing was completed in no time.

Imai was overjoyed to see this; he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly this time.

"Order the 2nd and 3rd companies to immediately advance and cross the river! Break through the enemy's defenses in one fell swoop!"

However, just as the landing craft were retreating to prepare for the second wave of attack, the bugle call to charge suddenly sounded from the 6th Regiment's position.

A large number of Xia soldiers braved the artillery fire and charged towards the Chusheng Army on the shore.

A fierce hand-to-hand battle erupted between the two sides instantly.

In the midst of the fierce battle, many soldiers carried newly promoted soldiers and rolled down the canal.

Inside the regimental headquarters, Lin Zhiyuan picked up the phone. "Mountain artillery battalion, 200 meters directly in front of the 3rd Battalion's position, cover fire!"

Although the target position was about 4 kilometers away from the mountain artillery battalion, and the hit rate of the Kremlin-style mountain guns was extremely low, this did not affect the effect of the barrage.

With reinforcements failing to arrive, Imai was frantic with worry, and could only watch helplessly as the troops on the opposite bank were completely annihilated.

Behind them, Hasegawa also had a clear view of the situation through his binoculars.

"Baka... Do the Xia army's shells have eyes?"

"Chief of Staff, which unit is this, with such formidable combat capabilities?"

The chief of staff standing nearby reported, "Regimental commander, we just received a telegram from the 10th Army headquarters."

"The troops in Lujia Town are the 6th Regiment of the 8th Army. They arrived in Lujia Town this morning, only two hours earlier than Major Imai."

"This morning?" Hasegawa looked incredulous. "How could an infantry regiment possibly build such a complete defensive position in such a short time?"

"Commander, I think it's highly likely that civilians are assisting us," the chief of staff analyzed.

"Damn it! You idiot!" Hasegawa's expression was unfriendly.

He realized that this was not outside the Great Wall but in Central China, the core area of ​​the Xia Kingdom.

After a moment's thought, Hasegawa ordered, "Have the Imai Battalion retreat and halt the attack."

The annihilation of an entire squadron is equivalent to a 30% reduction in the front-line troops. The offensive power of the Imai Battalion has been greatly reduced, and even if they continue to fight to the death, they will probably find it difficult to break through the enemy's defenses.

Hasegawa had indeed been determined to take Lujia Town, but at that time he believed that the garrison of Lujia Town was no match for him.

Now, the experience of Imai's battalion has made him realize that the enemy is not some insignificant force, and if he acts rashly, he may suffer heavy casualties.

For Hasegawa, this was absolutely unacceptable.

When the 14th Brigade was transferred from the garrison, it received instructions that they would be transferred back after this battle.

Under these circumstances, Hasegawa was certain that the 10th Army would never consider the 14th Brigade as a priority for reinforcement.

If the 41st Regiment suffers heavy casualties, it will likely be able to return to the garrison as a defeated and remnant force.

……

At 3:30 p.m., the headquarters of the 14th Brigade, the 11th Regiment, and the 3rd Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment arrived ahead of schedule.

Upon arrival, Major General Okazaki, commander of the 14th Brigade, convened an emergency operations meeting.

"Colonel Hasegawa's decision to launch an attack while the enemy was still establishing a foothold was correct," Okazaki said, expressing his agreement with Hasegawa.

"Ting'an has fallen, and the main force of the 10th Army is advancing north. We must quickly open up a path for the main force to advance."

"Only by taking Lujia Town can we launch an attack on Kunshan, thereby attacking Taicang to encircle the Xia army in Binxi."

Lujia Town is located precisely at the critical juncture of the 10th Army's advance.

If they were to bypass to the east, the 10th Army would be aligned with the Binxi Expeditionary Army, which would not be very effective in blocking them.

If they went west, there were more than a dozen lakes of varying sizes blocking their way. If they went around the lakes, they would arrive directly at Wu County, which would be too large for one person to cover.

After glancing at Hasegawa, who was sitting upright, Okazaki looked at Nakamura, the commander of the 11th Regiment, who was sitting opposite him.

"Colonel Nakamura."

"The 11th Regiment will replace the 41st Regiment and immediately launch a fierce attack on the enemy's 6th Regiment's position. The Independent Mountain Artillery Regiment will provide fire support."

"Hi!"

Upon hearing Okazaki's order, Hasegawa's expression changed.

"Brigade Commander..."

"Alright, Colonel Hasegawa." Okazaki reached out and interrupted Hasegawa.

"The 41st Regiment, as the vanguard of the brigade, has been fighting for dozens of hours straight. The soldiers are exhausted. Let the 11th Regiment take over the attack mission first. You guys take a rest. There will be more big battles to come."

Hasegawa had no choice but to stand up and stand at attention.

"Hi!"

……