Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

East of the city, outside the city gate, thousands of soldiers from the Ninth Regiment (formerly the First Regiment) had already secretly moved into position. The reconnaissance battalion had eliminated all the mobile sentries and guard posts along the way beforehand.

During the period when the main force withdrew from Tangshan to Nanjing, the First Regiment first lay in ambush in the mountains and forests, and then gathered the defeated soldiers in battalions on the outskirts. With the addition of the wounded who were gradually recovering, the total strength had expanded to more than 4700 men, all of whom were elite soldiers who had survived a hundred battles.

Zhang Yi assigned all these newly recruited personnel to various units, expanding each squad to 16 people and increasing the number of infantry battalions to over 1200.

The Schneider artillery company and its directly subordinate artillery company were temporarily reorganized into an artillery battalion, equipped with 17 75mm mountain guns and howitzers, and 8 Type 92 infantry guns.

In addition, there are more than 600 seriously wounded soldiers who have not yet recovered. They have already contacted the personnel remaining on the Second Peak and the Fourth Regiment of the First Peak in advance and agreed to launch a counterattack at the same time, under the unified command of Zhang Yi. The total force participating in the counterattack exceeds 8000 people and more than 40 artillery pieces.

That's right, it's a counterattack! Zhao Yunwen characterized this operation as a "counterattack," a powerful breakthrough.

The primary objective of the Ninth Regiment was to besiege the 16th Infantry Division at the First Peak and Fugui Mountain. The cannons were already set up, with their muzzles pointing directly at the Japanese camp, just waiting for fireworks to be set off in the city.

At the same time, the more than 2,000 soldiers of the Fourth Regiment who were holding the first peak were also ready to cooperate with the First Regiment to attack the Japanese at any time.

The remnants of the 8th and 5th Regiments in the east of the city were also prepared to counterattack, aiming to hold back the 9th Division that was besieging them, and coordinate with the counterattack of the 9th and 4th Regiments, with a total force of about 3,000 men.

At 2:30 a.m., Zhang Yi was patiently waiting for Zhao Yunwen's signal to retaliate. Fireworks appeared in the sky on time. These were Liuyang fireworks that Zhao Yunwen had redeemed from the system. They were launched eastward and fired three times in a row. When they exploded in the air, they could be seen for dozens of miles around. They were very beautiful.

Chief of Staff Lin Zheng excitedly came over to report:

"Commander, fireworks! Fireworks are on!"

"Can we begin?"

Zhang Yiqiang suppressed his excitement and roared:

"fire!"

"Boom boom boom..."

"Boom boom boom!"

More than twenty shells roared into the Japanese camp, instantly setting the night sky ablaze. The sleeping Japanese soldiers were stunned and disoriented by the bombardment.

Shells rained down one after another, destroying the Japanese's carefully constructed circular fortifications and causing heavy casualties.

At the same time, the artillery of the Fourth Regiment on the First Peak also opened fire on the enemy in front of them, accelerating the collapse of the Japanese troops.

The Japanese soldiers had no idea what was happening. Shells rained down on them, and the soldiers scattered like headless flies. Commanders couldn't find their subordinates, and officers couldn't find their soldiers.

At this critical moment, the loud bugle call pierced the night, and flares were fired from mortars into the sky, illuminating the battlefield as clearly as day.

The more than 4,000 infantrymen of the Ninth Regiment who participated in the counterattack launched a fierce attack on the enemy in front of them from multiple directions, like a series of butcher knives stabbing into the back of the Japanese soldiers.

The two thousand soldiers of the Fourth Regiment charged out of the trenches on the First Peak and charged into the enemy ranks like tigers descending the mountain. They were subsequently reinforced by two battalions, greatly increasing their strength.

Under the pincer attack from the 9th and 4th Regiments, the main force of the 16th Division was quickly scattered. The several regiments had no coordination and fought independently. In addition, the command system was paralyzed, and the combat effectiveness was not even one-tenth of what it was usually.

The Ninth Regiment launched the fiercest offensive, with its three infantry battalions splitting into three echelons—left, center, and right—to tear through the defenses, quickly dividing and defeating the Japanese troops, followed by a relentless pursuit.

The first to be defeated was the 20th Infantry Regiment besieging the Second Peak. The regimental headquarters was destroyed in the artillery fire, and the regimental commander, Nobuaki Ohno, luckily escaped.

Having learned from the experience of the 33rd Regiment, all regiments of the 16th Division were more cautious and increased the number of personnel assigned to protect their regimental flags.

Nobuaki Ohno tumbled off his cot and fell flat on his face. He rushed out of the field tent in a panic and found that the entire camp had turned into a sea of ​​fire.

The artillery of the Ninth Regiment used a large number of incendiary shells, and the continuous bombardment had set the Japanese positions ablaze. The raging flames illuminated the night, and with the occasional flares launching into the air, visibility on the battlefield was very high.

Nobuaki Ohno was terrified. The troops had already broken out in a panic. He tried to restrain them, but even after killing several people, it was to no avail, so he gave up.

Gunfire and shouts filled the air, and the shadowy figures of countless soldiers made his greatest worry the loss of the regimental flag. The 16th Division couldn't afford to lose it a second time; otherwise, the entire division might be disbanded, a responsibility the Ono family couldn't bear.

Fortunately, he found the flag-bearing company commander. At this time, there were still dozens of people left with them. When Nobuaki Ohno saw that there were Chinese people all around and that the troops had been defeated, he decisively ordered the destruction of the military flag.

He then pulled out a Nanbu pistol and fired two shots into his temple, taking responsibility for destroying the military flag and preserving the family's honor.

The 20th Infantry Regiment was largely annihilated by the combined attack of the 9th and 4th Regiments. The fleeing soldiers were deliberately driven toward the city wall, and the soldiers of the 9th Regiment chased after them, taking the opportunity to break into the city.

As agreed beforehand, the Fourth Regiment stayed behind to clean up the battlefield and guard the retreat route.

At the same time, the Fifth and Eighth Regiments in the city also launched a fierce counterattack in support of the Ninth Regiment.

After the 4,000 soldiers of the Ninth Regiment entered the city, they divided their forces to attack the Japanese troops in the east of the city, and soon the fighting turned into a chaotic mess.

In the northern part of the city, the Seventh Regiment, the most organized unit, was the first to complete its assembly. They and the First Regiment had not been deeply entangled with the Japanese and had made prior arrangements, so they quickly formed a powerful assault force.

Zhao Yunwen's newly upgraded night vision function came in very handy at this moment. He had a clear understanding of the Japanese troops' distribution in the city, and he could clearly see where the main forces were and where the weak points were. The Japanese were openly playing their cards against him.

After defeating the enemy in front of him, Zhao Yunwen began to divide his troops. The First Regiment continued to break through to the east, while the Seventh Regiment and the Special Service Battalion went south to flank the Sixth Division in the south of the city and assist the remnants of the Second, Third and Sixth Regiments in breaking through.

Zhao Yunwen personally led the special service battalion as the spearhead. These were all veterans of the training brigade. The sergeant battalion was completely disbanded when the defeated soldiers were reorganized and assigned to the provisional battalion as squad and platoon leaders.

The special operations battalion had been conserving its strength, with almost every soldier equipped with an MP28 submachine gun, giving them a strong firepower and a clear advantage in night battles and urban warfare.

The entire battalion, like a sharp knife, precisely pierced the enemy's weak point under the guidance of Zhao Yunwen, the "Beidou satellite," violently tearing through the 6th Division's close-fitting armor. The main force, the 7th Regiment, followed up and expanded the victory.

The three regiments trapped in the southern part of the city had long been fragmented, intertwined with the Japanese, each one inhabiting the other, making it difficult even for a military genius to reunite them.

They faced the most powerful Sixth Division, so Zhao Yunwen chose to have them break out separately. After seeing the fireworks, everyone rushed eastward without unified command, and whoever managed to break through was outnumbered.

The flanking attacks by the Special Service Battalion and the 7th Regiment struck at the Japanese's weak point. The 6th Division was also scattered and unable to form a cohesive force. At this time, it had been thrown into chaos by the three regiments that broke out. The flanking attacks by the southward-bound troops were fatal. The scattered Japanese were easily defeated and suffered heavy casualties.

Yuhuatai, Headquarters of the Sixth Division

Hisao Tani was awakened from his sleep by a nightmare.

"Baka yarou, this can't be real!"

Just as Tani Hisao had convinced himself, Chief of Staff Ichiro Shimotsu rushed in, his pupils dilated and unfocused.

"You idiot! Don't you have any manners as a high-ranking officer? How can you be so impetuous and unruly!"

Shimono Kazuki, no longer caring about providing emotional support to Tani Hisao, shouted in a daze:

"It's terrible! The Chinese are counterattacking! The whole city is in chaos!"

Hisao Tani raised his arm and slapped the outcast colonel several times, leaving him completely disoriented.

"Baka yarou, what do the Chinese have to fight back with? If you dare to disrupt morale again—you're dead!"

After finishing his rant, Tani Hisao rushed out of the field tent. Although he was still grumpy from being woken up, he could still hear the commotion throughout the city.

Having witnessed it firsthand, Tani Hisao's last trace of drowsiness vanished, and he instantly understood what was happening, shouting fiercely:

"The Chinese are trying to break through! Stop them!"

Shimotsuke Ichiro's mind was full of sorghum flowers:

"What will you use to block it?"