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

Captain Naoki Nishimura was equally puzzled. The defenders' positions were right in front of him, yet they couldn't break through. He could only attribute the problem to the enemy's overwhelming firepower.

"Damn it, how come the Chinese have so many machine guns and mortars?"

Squad leader Inoue Hideji, his eyes bloodshot, said:

"Nishimura-kun, the warriors can't possibly charge forward. They'll die if they show themselves. The Chinese have many sharpshooters."

Naoki Nishimura naturally saw it too, but he refused to acknowledge reality. Hideji Okikami roared:

"No one is a better marksman than the Imperial Army. The Chinese are just a bunch of farmers who went to the battlefield as soon as they learned to shoot. You're just making excuses for your incompetence!"

"The Bushido spirit of the Empire is invincible! True warriors don't always lie on the ground! Attack—attack!"

Captain Nishimura lost patience and drove the Japanese soldiers to continue their charge.

The Japanese army had a strict hierarchy. Once the company commander gave an order, the squad leader would never dare to disobey. He immediately brandished his saber and led the charge towards the defending troops' position.

"Warriors, His Majesty the Emperor has departed!"

Other Japanese soldiers followed suit, charging forward despite the hail of bullets. People fell one after another, but no one cared.

The squad leader charged forward and suddenly collapsed to the ground. A machine gun bullet ripped a fist-sized hole in his chest, leaving him a bloody mess. Soon, his body was trampled underfoot by the other Japanese soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers of Nishimura's company risked their lives to advance more than ten meters, but they lost more than thirty men, including Lieutenant Inoue, which angered Captain Nishimura so much that he cursed them as trash.

The Japanese soldiers were once again thoroughly defeated. This time, Captain Nishimura didn't fight back. If the fighting continued, he would become a company commander without any troops.

The two sides continued to exchange fire, and the grenade launcher and light machine gunner of Nishimura's squadron were constantly being shot down. The arrogance that had been on his face was gone.

The defending forces not only had sharpshooters, but also many others. Most deadly of all were their elusive small-caliber mortars, which were even more agile than grenade launchers.

In a short period of time, the Nishimura Company lost three light machine guns and two grenade launchers, which were the main firepower of the Japanese company.

"Damn it! The Chinese mortars are a huge threat! Request tactical guidance immediately!"

Captain Nishimura, no longer stubborn, sent a communications soldier to request assistance from the battalion headquarters, hoping that the infantry artillery could change the predicament.

Battalion Commander Major Hideaki Iwasaki had already noticed this problem and ordered the infantry artillery to move forward to provide support, and the latest Type 94 artillery mortars also joined the battle.

The Third Battalion, positioned on the left flank, was the primary target of the Japanese attack and suffered heavy casualties.

Battalion Commander Lü Zeng glared intently at the Japanese soldiers and said to Deputy Battalion Commander Lin Feng:

"The Japanese infantry guns and mortars are too much of a threat. Instruct the artillery company to disperse and respond accordingly. They must keep a close watch on the Japanese artillery, and if they can't reach it, they should request reinforcements from the regimental headquarters."

The 3rd Battalion had lost one of its six artillery pieces, but now it still had five: two Type 92 infantry guns and three Type 20 mortars, which was comparable to the firepower of the Iwasaki Battalion, which had been reinforced with two mortars.

Lin Feng said with a dark face:

"The Japanese soldiers charged like madmen, completely disregarding casualties; it was a reckless fighting style."

Lu Zeng coldly shouted:

"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a matter of fighting to the death. Do you think our Third Battalion is afraid of the Japanese? Tell all companies, don't be afraid of casualties. Trade lives for lives! Our Tiger Army has never been afraid!"

Lin Feng felt sorry for the brothers who had sacrificed their lives. The war had turned into a war of attrition, with heavy casualties on both sides.

Since the battalion commander had made up his mind, Lin Feng said no more and turned to give the order.

Lu Zeng continued to watch the battle through his binoculars. The two sides were locked in a fierce struggle, and it was just a matter of seeing who would give in first.

After receiving Lü Zeng's order, the third platoon leader led an infantry gun forward 300 meters, reaching the front line so that they could reach the Japanese mortars.

He had his eye on a Japanese mortar crew, which posed a significant threat to the 3rd Battalion's machine guns and had to be eliminated.

The platoon leader was previously a sergeant gunner who participated in the Battle of Nanjing. His old unit was the 87th Division. After the unit was expanded into an artillery brigade, he was promoted to second lieutenant platoon leader for his meritorious service.

Although he is now an officer, he is definitely the best gunner in the Third Battalion, and is known as "Liu the Cannon"!

The Japanese mortars showed no awareness of being targeted and continued firing recklessly. They were also very cunning, changing their target location after each shot.

They had already fired two shots from the same firing position, destroying a Browning machine gun belonging to the defending troops, and had long been a thorn in Liu Yipao's side.

The position was locked. Liu Yipao squinted and took another look, then slightly adjusted the elevation before tightening the rigging.

The shell was fired and flew toward the location of the Japanese "little cannon".

With a muffled explosion, a burst of flame erupted at the location of the infantry gun, and the spotter shouted excitedly:

"Target hit!"

Liu Yipao's face showed no smugness, but instead he coldly shouted:

"Move to a new position immediately!"

Although the Japanese could not react in such a short time, Liu Yipao remained cautious and did not fire a second shot in the same spot, thus maintaining his legendary record of hitting the target with a single shot.

After moving to their new position, they fired another shot, destroying a Type 92 heavy machine gun, which finally attracted the attention of the Japanese artillery.

The infantry artillery platoon leader gave a death order: they must be wiped out.

Liu Yipao was unaware of these things. They kept changing positions and firing their cannons, hitting their targets every time, which gave the Japanese a lot of trouble.

The Japanese tried to lock onto them, but failed several times. They even fired two shots that missed their targets, thus revealing their intentions.

Liu Yipao discovered that another Japanese mortar detachment was watching him, so he decided to use himself as bait to take down the Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, he took a risk and fired two shots from the same spot, which indeed provoked retaliation from the Japanese.

Luckily, they managed to evade the enemy again, and Liu Yipao also found the hiding place of the Japanese mortar.

He adjusted the firing angle at top speed, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion, with both sides' shells falling almost simultaneously.

The Japanese artillery shells exploded behind the trenches, sending shrapnel flying everywhere. Liu Yipao was hit by three shrapnel fragments and fell into a pool of blood.

Two part-time medics rushed to his aid and provided battlefield first aid in the trench. Since the wounds were not fatal and the medics had effective medicine, Liu Yipao survived and was not even seriously injured.

The medic patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Platoon leader, you're pushing yourself too hard!"

After catching his breath, Liu Yipao asked:

"Wasn't that a cool move?! Did they take out the Japanese artillery?"

The medic quickly said:

"Will the shell accurately hit the target, or will it wipe out the enemy in one shot?"

"Alright, wipe the horse piss off your face, I'm not going to die."

The medic and Liu Yipao were good friends who had crawled out of piles of corpses in Nanjing and were used to teasing each other.

But he was still startled this time, and he was so anxious that tears streamed down his face.

Although Liu Yipao laughed at him, he still reminded him:

"Don't push yourself so hard in the future. The Japanese devils' lives are nothing compared to yours."

After the medic finished speaking, he yelled at the others:

"The bandages are all in place. Quickly carry Platoon Leader Liu away!"

Liu Yipao was a treasure in the Third Battalion. Two people came immediately, carrying a stretcher, and took him to the rear to recover from his injuries.

The medic then took over the artillery. He was the platoon leader and the main gunner of the Type 92 infantry gun, but his position was taken over by Liu Yipao, the platoon leader who didn't do his job properly.

Mortars are generally not very powerful, and their impact points are relatively far apart, so all artillery pieces are still usable.

For safety reasons, the men moved the cannon to another firing position along the trench, hiding the cannon wheels inside the trench and only exposing the barrel.

The Type 92 infantry gun has a combat weight of only 212 kg. For ease of mobility, it is equipped with two wheels and can be pulled by mules and horses. It has a front-mounted steel shield that is 62 cm high and has a very low line of fire, making it easy to conceal.

The artillery company had constructed several backup firing positions within the trenches, just enough to accommodate one gun and its main gunner. When relocation was needed, they would retreat down the earthen slope into the trenches, then two men would drag the gun from the front and two men would push from behind, making the move very quick.

The Type 92 infantry gun has a maximum range of over 2700 meters. It can fire at low angles to strike fortifications and machine gun positions, or fire at high angles to suppress infantry in trenches.

The two infantry guns of the Third Battalion Artillery Company were the mainstay of firepower in defense. Liu Yipao risked his life to shoot down the two mortars that posed the greatest threat to the Japanese, which greatly reduced the pressure on the infantry.

After taking over the artillery, gunner Wang Fan aimed again at the Type 92 heavy machine gun two kilometers away. The assistant gunner loaded the shells from the trench. Wang Fan didn't dare to be careless and aimed again to make sure it was in the right spot before firing.

The shells landed within the machine gun position. With a kill radius of 22 meters and a weight of 3.81 kilograms, the anti-aircraft shells caused heavy casualties among the Japanese machine gun crew, and the heavy machine guns were also thrown into the air by the shockwave.

The regimental commander witnessed this scene and was so angry that he yelled:

"Damn it! Who handed the infantry gun to the Chinese? This is a crime!"