Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

One day later, the main force of the Northern Expedition Corps led by Su Zhengyang had completely penetrated the defensive positions of the Fuso Kwantung Army south of Hecheng. In this battle, the Northern Expedition Corps, with the First Army as the vanguard, formed a comprehensive crushing in combat effectiveness and military equipment, but under the desperate resistance of the Fuso Kwantung Army, the First Army suffered more than 8,000 casualties. The casualties of other coalition forces such as the Northeast Army, Guanzhou First Army, etc. were twice or even more than three times that of the First Army.

But the result was that the five major division-level troops of the Fuso Kwantung Army stationed near Tsuruga Castle were almost completely annihilated. Out of more than 100,000 people, only less than 20,000 defeated soldiers were left. They fled hastily into Tsuruga Castle, preparing to rely on the city's defenses to put up a last-ditch effort.

The Viking Division, far away on the southeastern border of Xingzhou, had already fired the first shot in their attack on Xingzhou.

On the evening of December 26, the Viking Division launched a surprise attack on Feiyan Pass, a strong fortress on the southern border of Xingzhou. In the extremely complex terrain, the Viking Division's armored forces were almost completely useless. With three armored grenadier regiments as the main force, they relied on their tenacious combat capabilities and amazing execution and successfully broke through the pass within six hours, completely annihilating the Kwantung Army's Fierce Dog Division guarding Feiyan Pass.

The Zhenxing Division, far away in the northwest border of Xingzhou, was no less powerful and fought a classic battle worthy of being recorded in the history of modern warfare. Five thousand infantrymen flew across the Juanyun River, and while the Fuso Kwantung Army's firepower blocked the river, some troops relied on ancient sheepskin rafts to bypass the river downstream. The two regimental combat units on the front made a feint attack, and finally formed a siege with the assault troops that quietly crossed the river, and captured the Fuso troops stationed on the south bank of the Juanyun River.

The 200,000 Kwantung Army stationed in Xingzhou originally had no pressure. After all, the terrain of Xingzhou was complex, and the armored forces could not play their advantages here at all. As the war continued, the two ace troops under Su Zhengyang, the Zhenxing Division and the Viking Division, had also been unveiled. According to the detailed analysis of the Kwantung Army General Staff, the reason why these two troops are so powerful is that they have extremely exaggerated armored forces and the best mobility in Asia.

The Zhenxing Division's dog-walking tactics on the grassland is a living example. On the endless, flat grassland, the Zhenxing Division used its mobility to constantly play tricks on the Kwantung Army troops led by the Hongchuan Division, and ultimately won the victory.

However, after analysis, a group of military advisers from the Kwantung Army's General Staff unanimously agreed that Xingzhou was mountainous and had complex terrain. After these two troops lost their proud iron torrent and mobility, it would be impossible for them to exert phenomenal dominance on the battlefield. In other words, in their view, these two seemingly aggressive ace troops could not pose any threat to Xingzhou.

Unfortunately, even though the armored forces could no longer display their might in the complex mountainous terrain of Xingzhou, the soldiers of the two ace units gave the Kwantung Army a perfect interpretation of what it meant to be able to pacify the country when on horseback and to decide the outcome of the war when on foot.

The armored grenadier regiment, armed to the teeth, accomplished all kinds of incredible feats, such as marching 60 kilometers in one day through dense and steep forests while carrying a heavy load, and relying on an ancient sheepskin raft that could be overturned by a big wave to cross the surface of the Cirrus River, which the locals called the Death Rapids, and successfully complete the landing.

It is no exaggeration to describe the combat situation of the Zhenxing Division and the Viking Division as unstoppable and victorious.

Three days later, north of Feiyan Pass and south of Jiaoping City, known as the coal capital of Xingzhou, the Viking Division and the two main Class A divisions of the Kwantung Army launched a field encounter. Although due to the complex terrain, the Viking Division's heavy firepower, such as 150MM heavy artillery and 203MM Thor's Hammer, could not penetrate deep into the hinterland of Xingzhou even with the assistance of artillery tractors, but its dense light mortars in platoons, 80MM medium mortars in battalions, and heavy mortars with a caliber of 100MM and above made the Fuso Kwantung Army suffer.

On the battlefield, the Viking Division's platoon-based mortar fire support came extremely quickly and fiercely. The terrifying sound of the MG42 general-purpose machine gun, like a cloth-tearing machine, resounded throughout the entire battlefield area. What was even more terrifying was that the Viking Division even arranged a large number of snipers, lurking in the mountains and forests, carrying out long-range rolling tactics on the enemy's machine gunners, artillerymen and other heavy firepower operating soldiers, making it impossible for Fuso to form an effective firepower counterattack.

The Viking Division consists of twelve-man commandos, each of whom is armed with an MP40 submachine gun and carries an M1897 pump-action shotgun. Two of the heavy firepower operators are armed with M42 machine guns and also carry a Panzerfaust portable rocket launcher. At medium and short distances, this rocket launcher, which was originally used as an anti-tank device, also plays a huge role when facing infantry.

With a perfect tactical system, indomitable fighting will, and a fearless and crazy fighting style from top to bottom, coupled with overwhelming military equipment, the Viking Division, armed to the teeth, took over the two main cities of Xingzhou in less than six days, annihilated more than 50,000 enemies, and set off a powerful offensive storm throughout Xingzhou.

In Hakushu Liaodong City, at the Kwantung Army Headquarters, Minamino Tojiro's hair was like a chicken coop, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was in an extremely irritable state. He originally thought that with hundreds of thousands of elite Kwantung Army troops, known as the best army in Asia, they would be able to stop the so-called Northern Expedition Corps. However, after the real fighting started, it was not what he had imagined at all.

Judging from the current situation, they may not even be able to wait for the support of Fuso's local air force, and they will be completely driven out of the Northeast by the Northern Expedition Corps. This will be an unbearable loss for the entire Fuso. You know, in the more than 20 to 30 years since they occupied Hakushu and Xingzhou, they built a large number of industrial facilities, steel mills, arsenals, etc. in the two provinces.

If the Northeast was kicked out by the Northern Expedition Corps, all the efforts and energy spent by the Kwantung Army in the Northeast over the years would be wasted. To put it bluntly, Fuso is an island country surrounded by the sea with scarce resources. If it had not invaded everywhere and occupied other countries' territories to continuously provide blood transfusions to the country, how could it have become the number one military power in Asia today.

Under tremendous pressure, General Minamino Tojiro, the Fuso Army, has begun to suffer from insomnia all night long. He is extremely anxious, his hair is falling out in clumps, and even his urine has become split and yellow. Once he is really driven out of the Northeast by the Northern Expedition Corps led by Su Zhengyang, he, Minamino Tojiro, will be the biggest war criminal in the entire Fuso Army and the greatest shame in decades!