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

Jialu River, Putian section

With a command from Regiment Commander Luo Wen, the entire regiment unleashed its full firepower. Dozens of artillery pieces (including 60mm mortars), over two hundred light and heavy machine guns, and thousands of rifles fired fiercely at the Japanese. The terrifying firepower made even the seasoned Major General Guozhi gasp in surprise.

Horror!

"Damn it, why is the Chinese firepower so intense?"

The chief of staff quickly replied:

"General, this is somewhat unexpected, but also reasonable. The garrison in Zheng County is the First Army of China, which belongs to Hu Shoushan's 17th Army Corps."

Hu Shoushan was Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted general. He graduated from the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy and was a leading figure among the Whampoa students.

With He Zhonghan in civil affairs and Hu Shoushan in military affairs, his troops were first-rate in equipment, training, organization, and tactics. Their reputation was well-deserved!

"Well, it seems we underestimated the First Army! Good, only in this way can they be worthy of being a match for our Itagaki Division."

After Guo Zhideng finished showing off, he ordered the artillery to fire. He was not afraid of Hu Shoushan at all. The Whampoa Military Academy was just a little brother in front of the Army Sergeant School. There was only one person he regarded as his lifelong rival, and that was Zhao Yunwen!

"Fire! Destroy the Chinese artillery!"

Major General Guozhi's response was standard, but their reaction was a few beats too slow. By the time their shells landed, the artillery of the 644th Regiment had already moved away, and the Japanese got nothing.

The Japanese soldiers were unsure of the effect. Seeing that the defenders' artillery fire was being suppressed, they turned their cannons towards the defenders' machine gun positions.

The shells were as accurate as ever, inflicting considerable casualties on the defending troops.

The artillery company of the 644th Regiment once again unleashed its power, seemingly with eyes on the side, and fell into the Japanese artillery position, destroying several cannons in succession. This frightened the Japanese into freeing up some of their firepower to suppress the defending artillery group.

The firepower of the two sides was not on the same level. The Japanese reinforced two battalions of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment, with a total of 32 75mm howitzers.

Even though they lost a few guns, they were still far superior to the artillery company of the 644th Regiment. Therefore, they could only adopt guerrilla tactics, fighting a few rounds and then moving to a different location to tie down the Japanese artillery and reduce the pressure on the infantry.

The defenders' greatest weapon was a heavy artillery battalion equipped with 12 105mm mountain guns and 5 Schneider mountain guns, all with a range of over nine kilometers. The 105mm heavy guns, taking advantage of the terrain, could bring all of the Japanese artillery into their firing range.

On the Japanese side, only the Doihara Division had been temporarily reinforced with the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade, which had 150mm heavy howitzers. However, these artillery pieces were outdated and had a range of no more than ten kilometers.

The artillery was locked in a battle of wits, leaving the Japanese infantry as the punching bags, caught in a dilemma, forced to lie prone on the riverbank to avoid the hail of bullets and blindly fire back.

The defending troops had a river embankment two to five meters higher than the riverbank as cover, giving them a significant advantage in the firefight. The Japanese could only place their hopes on artillery suppression.

The artillery battle lasted for half an hour, then the defending troops stopped firing. The officer leading the charge shouted excitedly:

"Warriors, the Chinese artillery fire has been completely destroyed. The time has come to serve His Majesty! Charge!"

The Japanese soldiers scrambled to their feet from the riverbank and, driven by their officers, carried assault boats and surged frantically toward the eastern embankment, intending to force their way across the Jialu River.

The Jialu River is only about 20 meters wide and a little over 2 meters deep, which is not a problem for the Japanese soldiers who can swim, but supplies cannot get across.

With the defending troops having already destroyed the bridge, if the Japanese wanted to cross the river, they either had to have engineers build a pontoon bridge or use boats to storm the riverbank.

The mudflats near the river were covered with silt, and a person would sink halfway into the mud when they stepped on it, let alone the short Japanese soldiers.

With his body stuck in the mud, his assault speed was greatly reduced, making him an easy target for the defenders on the other side of the river.

In order to reduce the casualties from the Japanese artillery fire, Luo Wen simply ordered the Japanese to be placed in the muddy beach on the opposite side. The two sides were only seventy or eighty meters apart, with more than twenty meters of river in between.

The previously silent west bank of the river was once again swarming with bullets, their accuracy greatly improved, and the bodies of the Japanese soldiers quickly covered the riverbank.

The Japanese soldiers were not intimidated, but continued their charge under a hail of bullets. Finally, someone launched a speedboat into the river, and they rowed towards the west bank.

Heavy weapons in the distance continued to provide fire support, and thousands of machine guns fired on the riverbank, with people falling from time to time. The casualties of the 644th Regiment were also increasing significantly.

The two sides were competing in willpower, seeing who would succumb to the heavy casualties and retreat first. The 5th Division was known as the Steel Army, with an extremely tenacious fighting spirit.

Many Nationalist troops could not withstand such a bloody scene and could not hold out for long, but this time their opponent was the 644th Regiment.

The soldiers had long considered themselves dead. They lay prone on the pre-built battle positions on the riverbank and calmly fired at the Japanese soldiers.

The M1919 machine guns opened fire on the Japanese soldiers, using a hail of bullets to block the river surface and kill the Japanese soldiers on the assault boats. Many of them sank to the bottom of the river and floated on the surface after a while, turning the clear river red, which looked very relaxing.

Li Dashuan is a submachine gunner who uses the MP38 submachine gun, which uses a 28-round straight magazine and has fierce firepower.

He was a veteran of the Training Corps with rich combat experience. The Japanese soldiers were right within the effective range of the submachine guns, and every burst of fire yielded a result.

Thanks to the fire selector, Li Dashuan could fire three to five short bursts each time, with a very high first-shot hit rate and a fast rate of fire, enough to suppress an entire squad of Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese assault boats were getting closer and closer to the west bank. Nearly half of the infantrymen on board had been killed or wounded, but the remaining Japanese soldiers were still yelling and jumping onto the mudflats.

The silt submerged half of the Japanese soldier's body, leaving him trapped within it, only thirty or forty meters from the riverbank;

This distance became the Japanese soldiers' death route. Li Dashuan was no longer satisfied with short bursts of fire. There were too many Japanese soldiers, so he picked up his submachine gun and fired wildly, emptying the magazine in just two or three bursts.

He couldn't remember how many Japanese soldiers he had killed; it felt like he could never kill them all.

A barrage of grenades rained down from the sky, deliberately delayed by three seconds before being thrown, causing many to explode in mid-air, releasing thousands upon thousands of fragments that reached virtually every corner.

The Japanese soldiers fell one after another after being hit by bullets. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Dashuan quickly changed the magazine, then held the gun high and fired down at them. He didn't need to aim much; the veteran just relied on his instincts.

Li Dashuan had become numb from killing; he just fired mechanically without dodging. He left life and death to fate, fortune and honor to heaven, as long as he killed more Japanese devils.

Less than 40% of the Japanese soldiers were able to cross the river alive. They were unable to break through the riverbank defenses and were pinned down on the mudflats, unable to advance or retreat.

The Japanese troops that followed also suffered heavy casualties. The few narrow passages without water became the focus of the Japanese breakthrough, but without a numerical advantage, they were easily blocked by the defending troops, and their casualties were equally heavy.

Major General Guozhi seemed to smell something familiar. His hands, which were holding the binoculars, trembled uncontrollably. This weapon configuration and combat style were unmistakable!

"Are those bastards in the intelligence department all spineless? They're not the First Army, they're Zhao Yunwen's 107th Division!"

"What? It's Zhao Yunwen again? No wonder, that explains it! Although the First Army is well-equipped, its fighting spirit is far inferior to that of the 107th Division. Only they can withstand my Itagaki Division without being at a disadvantage."

Major General Guozhi felt a sense of powerlessness; he really couldn't get past Zhao Yunwen and his 107th Division.

Since Sheng Yu, He Shengliang?

"Baka Yaru, let the warriors retreat! Let's reconsider our strategy."

He was genuinely afraid of the 107th Division. The Japanese's tried-and-true human wave tactics were no different from sending people to their deaths. There was no point in expecting the enemy to collapse unless they were all wiped out.

Rowan was in a much better mood. The riverbank defense line had withstood the test, and the exchange ratio was at least 1 to 3. The Tiger Army could afford such a war of attrition.

The chief of staff shouted excitedly:

"Commander, the Japanese have escaped!"