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

The mudflats were teeming with Japanese soldiers, who carried a large number of assault boats and small wooden boats, some even preparing to swim across in armed formation.

In the distance, artillery and heavy machine guns provided suppressive fire, bullets kicked up dust on the western riverbank, shells exploded on the positions behind the riverbank, and trenches were destroyed in sections, each shell landing in the open ground and creating a deep crater.

The 643rd Regiment's artillery group counterattacked from two kilometers away, with more than twenty guns of various sizes, including 75mm mountain guns, Type 92 infantry guns, and Type 20 mortars. Each round of artillery fire caused the Japanese to pay a heavy price.

Because the riverbank was flat, the only high ground was utilized as artillery positions. Battalion and regimental artillery were used in concentrated force, creating tremendous firepower and making it the most effective way to deal with such massed attacks.

The Japanese soldiers were not intimidated. They completely ignored the miserable state of their comrades around them and charged forward like they were on steroids. At the same time, the artillery also joined the battle and fired back at the defenders.

The two sides exchanged heavy artillery fire, resulting in casualties on both sides. However, after the Japanese troops crossed the eastern dike, their firing range widened, and the light and heavy machine guns came in handy.

Under the barrage of thousands of bullets, the Japanese suffered heavy casualties, and their advance was paved with blood.

The Japanese soldiers remained fearless and relentless, a price that had to be paid on the road to a full-scale assault. It was extremely bloody, and it was a matter of who would give up first.

Lieutenant Colonel Cheng Po-xiao, Chief of Staff of the 643rd Regiment, couldn't help but sigh:

"Have those Japanese devils gone mad? If they keep fighting like this, even one of their regiments won't last a day."

Commander Qin Shiquan said in an icy tone:

"They're crazy, we'll fight them to the bitter end! As long as we withstand the first three blows from the 16th Division, the rest will be much easier."

"That's right, we're not afraid of a war of attrition. We have 400 million compatriots behind us. Let's see who can't hold on in the end!"

"Chief of Staff Cheng, tell the brothers, as long as we're here, we'll hold the position. We have nowhere left to retreat!"

On the riverbank, bullets whizzed past Hu Xiaoming's head, startling him so much that he instinctively pulled his head back into the trench.

Team leader Zheng Hailong gave him a cold shout:

"The Japanese devils have already gone into the river, are you going to be a coward?"

Caught red-handed by the veteran, Hu Xiaoming blushed and could only stick his head out of the riverbank shelter again, muttering resentfully:

"Only a coward is afraid of death!"

The river surface is more than 200 meters away from the embankment, which is the effective killing range of light and heavy machine guns. Rifles can also reach it, but whether they can hit it depends on luck.

The river was teeming with Japanese soldiers, some in boats and others swimming in armed formation. If you fired your gun, you might just run into one of them if you were lucky.

Hu Xiaoming mustered his courage and fired two shots, not knowing whether he hit the Japanese soldiers. The 643rd Regiment was equipped with domestic weapons, and he was using a Type 24 rifle, which was the standard issue for the former Training Corps.

Bullets were still whizzing by, but Hu Xiaoming was no longer so afraid and gradually got into the zone.

On the riverbed, which was only twenty meters wide, the Japanese soldiers suffered hundreds of casualties before finally reaching the mudflats.

Before the Japanese soldiers could even cheer, the muddy tidal flats trapped them, making every step forward a struggle, like a tortoise crawling.

As the distance closed, the bullets' accuracy increased significantly. Hu Xiaoming felt as if he had returned to the shooting range, where the Japanese soldiers, who were stuck in the mud, had become live targets.

Hu Xiaoming calmed down, aimed at the Japanese soldiers, and fired bullet after bullet, becoming more and more confident with each shot.

Finally, he hit a target, a young Japanese soldier just like himself. The bullet pierced his left chest. Hu Xiaoming saw it clearly and was so excited that he danced with joy.

A stray bullet blew off his helmet, and it took Hu Xiaoming a long time to react. He had just narrowly escaped death.

"That son of a bitch almost ruined the whole village's life!"

Hu Xiaoming pressed his exposed body down further, leaving only half of his head showing. He took a 5-round stripper clip from the bullet pouch and, with trembling hands, pressed it into the magazine.

"You son of a bitch, how dare you hit me! Die!"

The Japanese soldiers broke through the muddy ground and advanced to the anti-tank ditch. However, due to the ditch and landmines, their speed of attack was still slow, and they remained easy targets.

At a distance of only a few dozen meters, even a novice like Hu Xiaoming could hit the target every time, and grenades rained down relentlessly, causing Japanese casualties to skyrocket.

The Japanese soldiers had no way to retreat; they could only climb up the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, and the two sides engaged in close combat.

After the defending troops threw another round of grenades, the battalion commander raised his arm and shouted:

"Brothers, follow me and kill the Japanese devils!"

The battalion commander, carrying a submachine gun, leaped out of the trench and charged towards the Japanese soldiers. He fired several bursts of fire from his MP38, taking down four or five Japanese soldiers.

The others followed suit, rushing down the riverbank to engage in a life-or-death struggle with the Japanese soldiers.

More and more Tiger Legion soldiers charged into the enemy ranks, in groups of three, some with guns and others with bayonets, killing the Japanese soldiers and forcing them to retreat in defeat.

Hu Xiaoming's bayonet pierced the chest of the Japanese soldier in front of him, and the latter's contorted face made Hu Xiaoming's stomach churn, almost causing him to vomit.

A gleaming bayonet hurtled straight toward Hu Xiaoming's vitals. Hu Xiaoming was completely unaware. At the critical moment, a gunshot rang out. Zheng Hailong fired a shot at the Japanese soldier who had launched the sneak attack, pulling Hu Xiaoming back from the brink of death.

After realizing he had been given a second chance at life, Hu Xiaoming's back was soaked with sweat, and he dared not let his mind wander any further.

The Japanese soldiers had lost their fighting spirit and were being driven back by the overwhelming momentum of their troops, losing all will to fight.

The Japanese soldiers were first driven into the trenches, where corpses almost filled them. Then they were driven into the mudflats and rivers, where they were pushed and trampled to death.

The army was utterly defeated, leaving corpses for miles around. They had lost the ferocity of the first-class divisions and were like a flock of lambs to the slaughter, at the mercy of their pursuers.

"You idiot! A disgrace to the Imperial Army!"

"Fire! Blow them up!"

The regimental commander, who was watching from afar, lost face and ordered the mountain artillery company and rapid-fire artillery company to fire indiscriminately to intercept the pursuing troops, killing several times as many of the fleeing soldiers.

Fearing unnecessary casualties, Qin Shiquan ordered his men to recall the troops, deciding to stop while he was ahead.

The 16th Division's offensive, fueled by embarrassment and anger, ended in a crushing defeat. Nakajima Kesago's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he berated the frontline commander for his incompetence.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash! You've even taken down a small river embankment, what use are you?"

"You have utterly disgraced His Majesty the Emperor!"

Nakajima Kesago has turned into a shrew who curses in the street, and even Nakazawa Mitsuo is ashamed to associate with her. Where is the demeanor of a general?

"Your Excellency, Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. It's not that our warriors are incompetent, but rather that Zhao Yunwen's troops are too formidable—"

"You idiot! You're boosting the morale of others while diminishing your own!"

Before the 16th Division, the Chinese are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs!

Nakazawa Mitsuo had nothing to say. He couldn't afford to offend the division commander, especially since the battle had hurt the entire 16th Division.

When the battle damage report came in, Nakajima Kesago was completely devastated, thinking he had misheard. Nakazawa Mitsuo had no choice but to read it again:

"875 people were killed, more than 100 were seriously wounded, and hundreds were slightly wounded. Three artillery pieces and nine Type 92 heavy machine guns were lost."

The reason why the ratio of dead to seriously wounded is so different is that a large number of wounded were abandoned and directly reported as dead.

They wiped out an entire battalion. If they launched a few more such attacks, the entire division would be left with very few soldiers.

Despite having over 24,000 men, the 16th Division consisted of only 12 infantry battalions across its four infantry regiments. The rest were cavalry, supply trains, artillery, engineers, and non-combat personnel.

The loss of a thousand men was enough to make the old Japanese soldier wince. It took him a while to recover, and he asked, somewhat irrelevantly:

"How's the Fifth Division doing? Any breakthroughs?"

Nakazawa Mitsuo seemed to have regained some confidence, and raised his voice to say:

"It's not much better. They just sent a force to the north to outflank the Yellow River dike, but it was intercepted by the Chinese cavalry regiment and they lost hundreds of men."

"Baka yarou, they're a bunch of useless trash! Now we can only rely on the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade for support."

"The 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade? Oh my, has the Doihara Division also come as reinforcements?"

Nakajima Kesago waved his hand and said:

"Don't count on them. They were crippled by the Yudong Corps long ago and won't be able to recover their fighting strength in ten days to half a month."

I heard that the Commander-in-Chief has replenished the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade with more than thirty cannons, restoring its strength. This is the key to breaking the deadlock.

On the Zhengkai Highway, a large convoy was swaying along. They were a supply convoy heading to the front lines. The battle at Jialu River was intense, and a large amount of supplies were urgently needed.

Hundreds of meters away, a pair of hunter-like eyes were staring intently at them, a faint smile on their face.

After lying in wait for several days, we finally caught up with them.