Draw the sword and cure the fear of insufficient firepower

Two Lakes Region.

The Central Army’s third line of defense.

After the Japanese Fifth Division occupied Jingxian County, it turned around and attacked from north to south.

Many positions were occupied along the way.

The Japanese troops who were attacking the defense line head-on were also gradually advancing forward, and the lethality of the poison gas bombs was terrifying.

This terrifying lethality is not only reflected in the physical body, but more importantly, it will cause psychological trauma to the combatants.

It may even break down the enemy's psychological defenses, causing them to collapse in fear without even fighting.

The third line of defense was in danger, fortunately the 20th Corps arrived in time.

The defense line was consolidated, and the exhausted soldiers of the Ninth War Zone were replaced, giving them a chance to catch their breath.

With the addition of the 20th Corps, the Central Army gradually stopped its decline, but it still fought hard.

These days, the general commander has been continuously drawing troops from other war zones to reinforce Xue Boling.

The Japanese launched a strong blitzkrieg in this war, which caused a sharp increase in resource and military expenditures.

The Japs are already short of resources.

In this battle, they mobilized a total of 15 Army Aviation Battalions and 8 Armored Brigades.

Okamura Yasuji continued to increase his troops, and the total number of Japanese troops involved in the battle reached 40.

In this battle, the Japanese consumed twice as much ammunition as they had consumed in China in the past two years combined.

The consumption of other military supplies was even more exaggerated.

This battle can be said to be a competition between the national strength of both sides.

In the Japanese homeland, tens of thousands of people tightened their belts and cut back on food, saving money to support the locust army's war.

Tian Huang also set an example by giving away two-thirds of his personal property.

The Japanese were in a frenzy in their homeland. This was the largest campaign they had ever launched in China.

This battle seems to be a fight to the death for both sides.

No matter who loses, there will be no recovery.

Both sides are fighting with their last breath, and it depends on who will give up first.

The Central Army gradually realized this.

Following the advice of his subordinates, the general manager gritted his teeth and fought the Japanese to the last breath.

At the same time, he also received reinforcements from the Eighth Route Army, so he might really win this battle.

Therefore, no matter what the general manager says, he must first withstand the powerful offensive of the Japanese.

This battle, which was originally a campaign-level battle, gradually evolved into a strategic decisive battle between the two sides.

It has also attracted widespread attention internationally.

Chinese people living abroad held grand parades and raised funds to support the domestic war of resistance.

The Allied nations offered their support enthusiastically, and everyone lent a hand on the streets to support this just war.

The major powers have also set their sights on this decisive battle.

At the same time, we also tried our best to find ways to assist China from all sides.

All of a sudden, all kinds of strategic materials and weapons and equipment were provided to the Central Army.

The president has received so much assistance and won a good reputation internationally.

It further strengthened his determination to fight the war.

As the Japanese's logistical supply gradually became inadequate, their offensive against the Central Army was no longer as strong as before.

The two sides gradually came into a standoff.

And Neiji Okamura also realized this.

If the locust army cannot win quickly, it will inevitably be dragged into the quagmire.

This is the worst outcome that he and the people in the base do not want to see.

The imperial top brass and headquarters were aware of this war of aggression before it began.

The locust army must fight quickly and decisively.

At the beginning, the locust army originally planned to rely on the empire's powerful national strength to launch a fierce attack on the impoverished and weak China.

Defeated the Chinese people's resistance in one fell swoop.

Thereby achieving the strategic goal of destroying China in three months.

However, things backfired.

China, which seemed to be a loose group, appeared extremely united after the locust army invaded.

The seemingly cowardly Chinese people showed great determination and faith when facing the bayonets of the locust army.

This directly led to the empire's strategic misjudgment.

This has also led to the current stalemate with China.

If this battle cannot be resolved quickly, the locust army will fall into the abyss.

Okamura Neiji knew this very well.

So, he gave death orders to the troops on the front line.

Moreover, the deadline is 3 days to break through the Central Army’s third line of defense.

If they fail to break through after three days, all the generals on the front line will be demoted by one level.

Those who are not successful in battle must commit seppuku to apologize.

So, when the Japanese soldiers on the front line received this order, their eyes turned red.

He shouted "Your Majesty the Locust" and attacked the central army like crazy.

Moreover, the Japs rarely launched large-scale attacks at night in the past, but now they don’t care about that and launch attacks day and night.

Some troops even launched suicide charges.

For a time, the Central Army on the front line was under tremendous pressure and the number of casualties rose rapidly.

The Japs' fate was not much better.

The Central Army soldiers were already blood-thirsty on the third line of defense.

Many of their good brothers and local people were killed by the Japanese. If they did not avenge them, they would be unworthy of being soldiers.

There were even cases where the division commander personally led the suicide squad to engage in close combat with the Japanese, and this happened more than once or twice.

In this decisive battle, the Central Army was surprisingly united, and it was rare for them to remain unmoved when friendly forces were in trouble.

Because everyone knows that this battle is indeed a battle that concerns the fate of China.

If we lose the war, Chongqing will definitely be lost.

In the future, we may all become slaves of a conquered nation.

Under the influence of this emotion, and the fact that the Japanese burned, killed, looted and slaughtered all the Chinese villages and towns they encountered, the Central Army burst out with great combat effectiveness.

Many of the soldiers in the Ninth War Zone are from Hunan and Hubei, and their families are here. If they don’t fight to the death, their families will be slaughtered by the Japanese invaders.

The area occupied by the Japanese was already a sea of ​​blood and corpses, with no human habitation within a hundred miles.

However, the weapons, equipment and training levels of the two sides are not at the same level after all.

This time, the Japs have elite divisions with strong air and artillery support.

The Central Army could only grit its teeth and hold on.

The Japanese kept breaking through small areas of the third line of defense.

Then the Central Army organized a death squad to take it back.

The two sides started a tug of war.

The Central Army suffered heavy casualties, but the Japanese also suffered heavy casualties.

The Japanese charged forward recklessly, and the casualties on that day alone reached nearly 10,000.

But there were still some positions where the Japanese gained a firm foothold.

They began to divide the battlefield, preparing to split the third line of defense and then break it down one by one.

Both the General Manager and Xue Boling realized that if this continued, the third line of defense would soon be breached.

Orders were given to defend the city with all their might; those who advanced would live, and those who retreated would die.

But the situation remains critical.

The troops on the front lines of both sides received death orders.

As the saying goes, put it to death and live later.

Without a way to retreat, the combat power unleashed is far beyond the normal level.

The Japanese were extremely vicious and under the command of General Okamura Yasuji, they transferred thousands of poison gas bombs to the front line.

Prepare to gather strength and break through in one fell swoop.

At this time, the Central Army had suffered a total of 44 casualties, while the Japanese had suffered a total of 8 casualties.

It depends on who can hold out longer.