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

Jinshui River, the 323rd Division's defense line

A barrage of shells rained down from the sky, reigniting the flames of war on the battlefield that had been silent for three days. The Fifth Division, having completed its replenishment, launched a renewed offensive, and as usual, the offensive began with artillery preparation.

After suffering two major losses in succession, the Itagaki Division learned from its previous mistakes and fought very cautiously.

A large number of artillery shells were sent from Pengcheng, and more than 30 howitzers were also added, restoring the 5th Artillery Regiment to its original status, while the 2nd Heavy Artillery Brigade withdrew to North China for rest and reorganization.

The North China Area Army still did not send any aircraft to assist in the battle, which greatly annoyed Seishiro Itagaki, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Terauchi Hisaichi's patience was limited. If he could not make significant progress, the North China Area Army would have to consider replacing the commander with the 10th Division instead of the 5th Division.

This was an absolute disgrace to the 5th Division, and no one from Itagaki Seishiro down could accept it. So Kunisaki Noboru made a pledge to break through the Jinshui River defense line within three days.

The artillery preparation lasted for half an hour, but the defending troops did not react excessively. The artillery brigade, which posed the greatest threat to the Japanese, never showed up, which made Kunisaki Noboru very uneasy.

He decided to send a few hundred men to test the waters and arranged for a large number of observers to record the defending troops' firepower configuration. Kunisaki Noboru was going to have a proper positional war with the 323rd Division.

Colonel Sui Youlan, commander of the 646th Regiment, put down his binoculars and said to Chief of Staff Le Bo:

"Notify the Second and Third Battalions that there are only a few hundred Japanese soldiers. They are clearly just putting on a show. Be careful."

Previously, the Japanese main attack focused on the left flank, with the 645th Regiment playing the leading role. Now, the focus has shifted to the right flank, and the 646th Regiment is taking the lead. Everyone from the regimental commander, Sui Youlan, down to the regimental commander, is very excited.

Le Bo continued, saying:

"The Japanese are using the same few tricks over and over again. They are clearly launching a probing attack. The Second and Third Battalions can handle it on their own."

Le Bo sent his military affairs staff to deliver the message, while he himself stayed with Sui Youlan to continue watching the battle. Each regiment of the Tiger Army had a fixed defensive tactic, and the regimental commander only needed to deploy troops.

Like the left wing, the 646th Regiment deployed two infantry battalions on the front line, while the 1st Battalion and artillery company were deployed on the second line, ready to call for support from the artillery brigade if necessary.

Their defensive front, about 600 meters long, consisted entirely of riverbank defenses. The river channel was wider than the left flank, making it easier to defend.

The left flank of the defense line is the 645th Regiment, and the right flank is the 643rd Regiment of the 322nd Division. There is no need to worry about the safety of the flanks.

There were two bridges in the defense zone, which were the main targets of the Japanese attack. Sui Youlan did not order the bridges to be blown up, as there was no need for it.

Through Sui Youlan's telescope, hundreds of Japanese soldiers had already crossed the riverbank on the opposite side and entered the mudflats, greatly slowing their advance and making them easy targets.

Almost simultaneously, the light firepower of the riverbank defense line was unleashed, with thousands of machine guns raining down bullets on the Japanese, and the battlefield was instantly ignited.

The Japanese infantry were exposed in the open field, with mud up to their thighs underfoot. It was difficult to take any normal shelter, and they could only be trampled by the defending troops.

Rows of Japanese soldiers fell, their bodies quickly covering the riverbank, their blood staining the river red. The defending troops' firepower remained as brutal as ever.

Supplementary soldier Anzai Zhixing had never seen such a bloody scene before. He had been retired from active service for five years and had long since married and had children.

His comfortable life had long since dulled his fighting spirit; the domestic propaganda about holy war was just a formality. Only after he went to the battlefield did he realize how far different the reality was.

"You idiots! A bunch of frauds!"

Private First Class Anxi couldn't help but curse, saying that the Chinese were supposed to only have broadswords and spears, but this firepower was much stronger than the Type 38 rifle in his hand.

In a short time, two members of his group collapsed, one of whom was still struggling in the mud with his intestines bulging out, making him feel nauseous.

To ward off his fear, he kept firing his gun to bolster his courage, regardless of whether he could hit anything.

Across from Anxi Zhixing, Guo Fugui, a new recruit from China, was also firing silently. He had hardly ever had any real training, let alone been on the battlefield. From being conscripted to actual combat, only two months had passed.

The Nationalist government's veterans had suffered heavy losses in previous major battles, so they could only be replenished with a large number of new recruits, and conscription was a common practice. Units like the 74th Army had already gone through several generations of replacements, and those who survived were mostly veterans.

Guo Fugui was lucky to be assigned to the Tiger Legion. Of the thirteen men in his squad, eleven were veterans, nine had fought in the Battle of Pengcheng, seven had fought in the Battle of Nanjing, and six had fought in the Battle of Shanghai. This was absolutely unique among the three million Nationalist troops.

With veterans supporting him, Guo Fugui only needed to stay in the trench and fire his gun. His chest pouch was bulging with over a hundred rounds, and he could replenish it when he ran out.

In a short time, he had already used up six bullets without getting anything, which made Guo Fugui very angry.

He calmed himself down and turned his gun on a shifty-looking Japanese soldier, who was none other than Private First Class Anzai.

This kid is also firing randomly; it's a typical case of two noobs pecking at each other.

Guo Fugui lowered the gun barrel, aiming at Anxi's abdomen. After aiming for a while, he released the trigger and realized that his palms were sweaty.

The target advanced another dozen meters or so and entered the river, sinking up to its knees with the water. Every step forward was difficult, with most of its body exposed to the defenders' firepower, much like the half-body target Guo Fugui had trained on.

Guo Fugui let out a long sigh of relief, gripped the trigger again, and the gun fired. The huge recoil made his chest ache. His grip was clearly wrong; he should have been holding the gun against his armpit.

The bullet luckily struck Anzai in the groin. The immense kinetic energy of the 7.62mm bullet nearly severed his thigh, causing him to collapse in the muddy ground, screaming in pain.

"Baka yarou! I've been shot! Help me! Help me!!"

Nobody paid him any attention; everyone was struggling to survive, let alone care about the wounded.

Guo Fugui could hardly believe he had actually hit a Japanese soldier. He was so excited that he danced around, only to be kicked down into the trench by a veteran next to him, making him wince in pain.

Bullets whizzed overhead, but the veterans ignored them until Guo Fugui calmed down and began to feel fear, leaning against the trench wall and panting heavily.

Only then did Guo Fugui realize that he had just killed someone; before this, he had never even killed a chicken.

Thinking of this, my stomach churned violently, and I vomited up all the food I had eaten that morning, along with bile.

"You good-for-nothing, all you do is slaughter an animal."

The veteran's disdainful words made his face burn with embarrassment, and he just wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

The team leader squatted down and patted him on the shoulder:

"You're not bad, kid. You just took down a Japanese soldier. You're better than me. At least you didn't wet your pants."

The veteran leaned closer and said:

"You're just spoiling him; he might have wet his pants already."

After saying that, he reached his dirty hand towards Guo Fugui's crotch, but the team leader slapped him away, glaring at him and shouting:

"Are you bored out of your mind? Hurry up and hide, the Japanese are about to open fire."

After the team leader finished speaking, the two men pushed and pulled Guo Fugui toward the anti-artillery bunker. The Japanese had already retreated after suffering heavy casualties, and according to their experience, shells would soon be falling.

Guo Fugui was protected by two veterans and survived his first real battle.

Anzai Tomoyuki was not so lucky. The remaining Japanese soldiers retreated in disarray, leaving him, barely alive, on the battlefield to fend for himself.

He's a cripple now, his leg is broken, he's not worth taking back, so he'll naturally be abandoned.

The blood on his thigh had already congealed, or perhaps it had all flowed out. Anzai Tomoyuki's mind was in disarray, his thoughts filled with images of his wife and children.

He had been away from home for less than a month when he collapsed in a foreign land, with nowhere to turn and no way to escape. He was quietly waiting to die, with no one to help him.

The Japanese artillery bombardment arrived as scheduled, with a much higher intensity and greater targeting than before. Most of the shells landed on the positions, destroying entire sections of trenches.

Guo Fugui huddled in the bomb shelter, trembling. The veterans' faces were ashen; the commotion was greater than they had imagined. They could only pray for better luck.

Their artillery shelters could only block some shrapnel; if they were hit directly by a shell, they would all die, and whether they survived depended entirely on luck.

After an unknown amount of time, the gunfire finally ceased, and Anzai Zhixing closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Guo Fugui's class monitor roared:

"The Japanese are coming! Prepare for battle!"