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

Major General Chen Sunong, a graduate of the third term of the 71st Army's Chief of Staff, said with some regret:

"The Tiger Army's mountain artillery battalion didn't show itself again, and could only watch helplessly as the Japanese crossed the river. If they had fought a few more rounds, they would have caused the Japanese a lot of trouble."

Song Yingguo remained calm and said indifferently:

"Even if the mountain artillery battalion opens fire, at most it will cause some losses to the Japanese. They are lightly equipped and will not have many shells with them. They may already be out of ammunition."

Their value lies not in how many Japanese soldiers they kill, but in their ability to support the Fujinshan defense line when needed, blocking the Japanese flanks and outflanking maneuvers. The main fighting still depends on ourselves.

The two men turned their attention to the front lines, and as the Japanese soldiers crossed the Shi River one after another, a fierce battle ensued.

West of Fujinshan, the main force of the Eastward Advance Detachment was rushing to the battlefield. News from the front was delivered every now and then. The battle had already begun, and Zhao Yunwen was much calmer.

323rd Division Commander Qiu Fengzi had long been eager to try, constantly urging the troops to speed up their march, but Zhao Yunwen stopped him, saying:

"Commander Qiu, take it easy. You can't rush things!"

Fujinshan had a full army, especially the 36th Division, which was the best-preserved German-equipped division. Song Yingguo was responsible for blocking the river in Jinling City. During the great retreat, the entire division withdrew, and the main force was preserved.

The division had 12000 men, most of whom were veterans. The division commander, Zhong Song, was highly experienced in combat, and a direct assault on the Japanese would not have been advantageous.

The 71st Army's previous deployment was that the 36th Division would guard the front, the 88th Division would guard the right flank, and the 61st Division would guard the left flank, with almost no reserves around them.

Now that my unit has taken over the left flank defense line, relieving Song Yingguo of his worries about the rear, and with the added reserve force of the 61st Division, it will be difficult for the 13th Division to capture Fujinshan!

After hearing Zhao Yunwen's analysis, Qiu Fengzi felt more confident. Since the outcome couldn't be determined in the short term, there was no need to rush.

Marching for three days under the scorching sun is a great test for the troops, and some have suffered from heatstroke, resulting in dozens of non-combat casualties.

Qiu the Madman turned to Chief of Staff Ma Weilan and asked:

How far are we from our destination?

Maweilan quickly replied:

"No more than twenty kilometers!"

Qiu Fengzi glanced at the sky and asked Zhao Yunwen for instructions:

"Why don't we let the brothers rest for a bit? They can eat some dry rations and get there before dark."

Zhao Yunwen nodded:

"Then let's rest for half an hour. The livestock also need some extra feed and water, and we need to keep watch!"

Qiu Fengzi immediately ordered them to rest on the spot and accompanied Zhao Yunwen to find a shady spot under a tree to cool off.

Ma Weilan had dry rations and drinking water brought over, and Zhao Yunwen and the others sat on the ground to replenish their energy.

Because it was a forced march, the food was very simple, still standard field rations, except that each person had an extra can of beef.

Zhao Yunwen quickly finished his lunch. Qiu Fengzi took out a military map from his person, accurately calculated the time to reach the designated position, and then said:

"Commander, we are now 17 kilometers away from Fujin Mountain. At a marching speed of 5 kilometers per hour, it will take about three and a half hours."

We'll rest until 2:30 PM and then set off; we should arrive before 6:00 PM.

The No. 1 hill on the north side of Fujin Mountain is less than nine kilometers from the ferry crossing, and the mountain artillery group can suppress the ferry crossing and the Japanese artillery positions with fire at any time.

Yejiaji was the Japanese army's forward base on the east bank of the Shi River. All supplies and equipment were concentrated here, out of reach of artillery, but cavalry regiments could harass them.

Fujinshan's main peak is 325 meters above sea level. It is a fan-shaped mountain, bordered by the Dabie Mountains to the south and the Yejiaji-Shangcheng highway to the north. Looking north, one can overlook the Shihe Ferry and control the Yejiaji-Shangcheng highway, the main road for the Japanese to advance westward.

Currently, the 36th Division of the 71st Army is responsible for defending the front, the 88th Division for the right flank, and our Eastward Advance Detachment is responsible for defending the left flank, that is, the northern front. The 61st Division is in reserve.

The 645th Regiment obtained the defensive deployment from the 71st Army and transmitted it back to the division headquarters. In fact, this information was all on Zhao Yunwen's minimap.

Moreover, he also possessed a God's-eye view from another time and space, knowing that Shimenkou on the northern front was the weak junction of the 71st Army's defense line. It was from here that the Japanese broke through, thus outflanking the main position of Fujinshan and forcing the defenders to abandon Fujinshan.

Now that the Tiger Army has arrived, the gap will be perfectly plugged by the 323rd Division. Song Yingguo also has an extra division of reserves. He is eager to see how much the Japanese will have to pay to take Fujinshan.

Thinking of this, he pointed to the stone gate on the map and said:

"This is the key point, we must hold it, we must deploy at least one regiment, and also keep enough reserves;

The mountain artillery battalion was to establish multiple positions on Hill 1, mainly to provide fire support for the main position on Fujinshan. They were to make full use of the advantage of flanking fire, fire and then leave, and not be caught by the Japanese artillery.

We brought an extra 20,000 gas masks, which we will provide to the 71st Army upon arrival. We will also leave a reserve regiment to support friendly forces at any time.

In just a few words, Zhao Yunwen finished explaining the precautions to take upon arrival, and left the rest to Qiu Fengzi to implement.

In the Battle of Fujinshan, Zhao Yunwen still planned to let Qiu Fengzi command, just to train his generals. Qiu Fengzi's role was more as a liaison with the 71st Army.

The half-hour rest period passed quickly, and the main force of the eastward advance detachment continued its march.

At Fujinshan, the main position, the Japanese soldiers who had crossed the Shi River were launching a tidal wave of attacks, with the 106th Brigade at the forefront.

Because they were hastily deployed, they did not build permanent fortifications on the mountain, but only a few trenches, along with foxholes and reverse slope positions, to hold off the Japanese with their own flesh and blood.

The soldiers, wearing M35 steel helmets, fired at the Japanese with their rudimentary weapons. Shells kept falling from above, and the battlefield was littered with corpses and wounded.

The 65th Regiment's offensive was extremely fierce. Although their tanks had not yet arrived, their artillery fire was relentlessly pressing down on the defenders.

Several heavy machine guns of the 3rd Battalion of the 212th Regiment were firing wildly at the Japanese when suddenly a round of artillery shells fell, covering the machine gun positions, destroying the guns and killing the men.

The battalion commander cursed in exasperation:

"Didn't I tell you to move after firing half a magazine? You ignored me! My heavy machine gun!"

The battalion commander's heartache wasn't for the fallen brothers, but for the Maxim heavy machine guns. Although the 36th Division still bore the name of a German-equipped division, its heavy equipment had suffered heavy losses in various battles and had not been replenished, dwindling with each battle.

All the 75mm mountain guns were used up, leaving the entire division with only 24 82mm mortars, 6 in each regiment, and a small number of 20mm Solothurn machine guns, which could be used to attack the Japanese light armor.

There were only 46 heavy machine guns and 184 light machine guns. With 12000 people, on average, one machine gun could only be assigned to every 100 people.

After just one round of artillery fire, two of the battalion's only three heavy machine guns were lost. Anyone would be cursing in that situation.

Without the suppression of heavy machine guns, the Japanese infantry seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack and stormed the position.

Seeing the Japanese soldiers charging forward, the battalion commander roared:

"Brothers, charge with me!"

The soldiers, bayonets at their heels, leaped out of the trenches and charged towards the Japanese. The two torrents collided violently, and a large number of soldiers fell instantly.

Colonel Ryogoku, seeing that the main attacking force had finally breached the defenders' position, shouted excitedly and threw the last reserve force into the battle, attempting to take Fujinsan in one fell swoop.

Just as the Japanese soldiers were shouting that the hillside was covered with sardines, the artillery on the opposite high ground roared again, and rows of 75mm high-explosive shells rained down from the sky, each explosion taking down many Japanese soldiers.

Colonel Ryogoku, witnessing his brave men being swallowed up by artillery fire in droves, roared in fury:

"Baka yarou! Quickly notify the artillery to blow them up!"

"Hurry up!"

The Schneider M1923 mountain gun not only had a long range but also a high rate of fire. In a short time, it fired more than a dozen rounds of shells, scattering the Japanese troops and greatly reducing their offensive power.

By the time the Japanese adjusted their cannons and fired at Hill 1, the artillery had already been moved away by mules and horses, and they hadn't hit anything.

Brigade Commander Gu Baoyu of the 106th Brigade shouted excitedly:

"The Tiger Legion's artillery is firing very accurately. The Japanese reinforcements coming up from behind have already lost their formation. Chief of Staff, take the reserves—and follow Lao Chong!"

The chief of staff quickly stopped him:

"Commander, you can't charge! It's dangerous!"

Gu Baoyu had already fastened his M35 steel helmet, grabbed the flower gun, and rushed out, startling the chief of staff who quickly followed with his guards.

He couldn't bear the responsibility if something happened to the brigade commander.

On the main battlefield, the brothers of the 106th Brigade had long been engaged in fierce fighting with the Japanese, and a large number of them lay dead on the ground.

Close combat is a kind of veteran filter; after a few rounds, most of the new recruits are stabbed to the ground, and those who survive are all assassination experts.

The artillery fire from the Tiger Army on the northern front disrupted the Japanese offensive rhythm and greatly reduced the morale of the Japanese soldiers in the melee, leaving them barely holding on.

It all comes down to whose reinforcements arrive first!

Gu Baoyu's reserve force was much closer to the Japanese reinforcements, so they arrived first. The addition of two battalions of over a thousand fresh troops quickly broke the balance of the game.

The Japanese troops suddenly collapsed and retreated like a receding tide;

Gu Baoyu ordered a pursuit, charging and attacking the Japanese relentlessly, routing them completely.

The two colonels were so angry that they cursed loudly:

"You bunch of trash, you bastards!"

"Fire! Blow them up!"