A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

When 101st Division Commander Masayoshi Ito received news that two lines of defense had been captured in succession, his expression brightened, and his previously tense mood relaxed. His two unsightly mustaches twitched with excitement.

Ito Masayoshi immediately called Sato Seizaburo and gave him a round of praise and encouragement: "Yoshi, the 101st Brigade fought bravely and won the victory. Mr. Sato is truly a role model for the soldiers of our Empire. I hope you will continue to carry forward the indomitable spirit of the Locust Army, take the last line of defense, and completely defeat the Chinese Army!"

The first blow also gave Sato Seizaburo a boost of energy. After taking down two lines of defense, Sato was now a little smug. Qujiaqiao was already in sight, and he was eager to strike while the iron was hot and break through the last line of defense in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, the two regimental commanders who had been fighting continuously on the front line and the battalion commanders who were leading the charge vaguely sensed something was amiss.

After capturing the position, they were all eager to know what the defensive line that had made them grit their teeth looked like. Even though the position was in ruins and full of devastation, it was still clear that the Chinese army's position deployment and depth configuration was a complex system, which broadened their horizons.

"What our army considers a single line of defense should actually be called a defensive zone. Each zone is a system of forward and backward depth, and each zone can be considered as at least two or three lines of defense." Commander Kano Haruo of the 101st Regiment looked around at our army's positions and couldn't help but sigh.

"What a price the Imperial Locust Army paid to finally capture these positions..."

Kano Haruo felt increasingly uneasy because he had noticed that the Nationalist army had not left many corpses on the position, which was in stark contrast to the Japanese corpses scattered all over the ground.

"Although our army captured the position, it did not annihilate the Huaxia Army's fighting force."

Recalling the course of the battle, it seemed that the other side was willing to give up.

"Another trap?" The terrifying scene of the "fire net trap" that had been like a nightmare still sent chills down his spine.

With a complex gaze, Ganajiro looked at the "last line of defense" of the Chinese army in the distance, his expression becoming serious.

At this moment, Song Hongfei felt quite stretched. Facing the fierce attack from both flanks by a Japanese brigade, the casualties of our front-line troops were already heavy. Of the five battalions under his command, four had already been sent to the front.

The remaining battalion was deployed on the right flank as the final reserve, while also guarding the opposite bank of the Wusong River on the right. Although the Japanese army was now launching a fierce attack from the northwest, no one could guarantee that they would not cross the river to attack, so we had to be on guard.

Our commando team crossed the Wusong River from here to launch a surprise attack behind enemy lines. Who knows, the vengeful Japanese army might retaliate.

Commander-in-Chief Gui Shuaizhen didn't have many reserves left either; all three regiments of the Training Corps had been committed to the battle. The headquarters and one battalion of the 2nd Reserve Regiment were supporting Xujia Lane on the west side, and two battalions were attached to the 3rd Regiment at Qujiaqiao. His last remaining infantry combat units were the Sergeant Battalion and the Special Service Battalion, ready to fill any gaps at any time.

"Not only are our artillery firepower inferior to the Japanese army's, but our troop strength is also at a disadvantage." Song Hongfei was both helpless and anxious.

His eyes were bloodshot. Since rushing to Qujiaqiao to provide support, the battle had been intense and fierce. He hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep for several days. Sometimes, just when he tried to take a nap, he would be interrupted by new developments or various reports.

Song Hongfei repeatedly called for artillery support from the brigade headquarters, but the brigade's artillery battalion could only fire a rapid volley with scattered double or even single guns each time, failing to form a large-scale firepower. After firing, they had to immediately move away, otherwise they would be met with fierce counterattacks from the Japanese army.

The artillery battalion commander, Lou Dishan, was filled with helplessness and indignation. After the artillery positions were moved multiple times, all of the more than 20 pre-set firing positions of the artillery battalion had been detected by the enemy. The enemy was closely monitoring them at all times, and they were detected as soon as they fired, and were immediately countered by long-range artillery specially responsible for suppression.

One artillery crew was a little slow after finishing firing and was hit by a barrage of enemy shells, wiping out half of the crew.

After a massive artillery barrage, the Japanese army resorted to their old tricks again.

The 101st and 149th Regiments on the left and right flanks each dispatched two companies in small groups to conduct probing attacks from multiple directions, attempting to lure our firing positions into exposure before destroying them with direct fire. The four companies spread out their skirmish lines widely, almost completely covering the front of our left and right flanks.

Two forward battalion commanders of our army ordered their battalion mortars to fire covertly and sporadically, creating the illusion that our artillery fire was weak.

He then ordered most of the troops in the companies facing him to remain hidden and on standby, with each sending a platoon to the front line. The heavy machine gun teams were to maneuver and move between the pre-designated fake fortifications, and were instructed to wait until the enemy got close before opening fire.

The Japanese company commander and platoon leader held their swords to their shoulders, waving them forward and shouting "Attack! Advance!" as their skirmishers continued to advance towards our positions.

When the Japanese troops charged to within a few dozen meters, a storm of machine gun fire suddenly erupted at our front line. Under the fierce barrage of fire, dozens of Japanese soldiers were hit and fell to the ground dead almost simultaneously, and the Japanese troops began to retreat in panic.

Subsequently, the Japanese artillery concentrated fire on the exposed firing positions of our troops.

The Japanese gradually increased their forces, with infantry guns and field guns advancing to fire directly at our positions, repeating this several times until they believed they had destroyed all our firing positions and probed all the minefields. They then used mountain artillery to plow through the ground and open up an offensive path.

Even Division Commander Masayoshi Ito thought the frontline commanders were being too cautious, which was beneath the dignity and prestige of the Imperial Army.

After another round of artillery preparation, a large number of Japanese infantrymen stepped on the advancing barrage of bullets and launched a full-scale attack.

The defensive posture was very favorable to our army. Although the Japanese army occupied two positions, the positions and all fortifications that our army had carefully arranged were all aimed at the enemy and could not be aimed at us. The Japanese army would have to modify them before they could be used, and there was simply not enough time.

Between the guard posts and the main positions lay several hundred meters of open ground, completely unobstructed, allowing our troops a clear view. This prevented the Japanese heavy machine guns and grenade launchers from closing in and firing, effectively halving their support firepower. The Japanese flanking maneuvers were also limited by the network of waterways, significantly reducing the pressure on our flanks.

Our two forward battalions advanced steadily, with only a few observation posts on the positions when the enemy shelled. When the enemy infantry launched their attack, defensive forces were deployed according to the number of enemy troops. The main positions and the well-maintained trenches in the rear allowed our army to move very quickly.

Rows of general-purpose machine guns were set up in the covered firing bunkers, their dark muzzles menacing, and their gleaming yellow machine gun belts flashing coldly.

"Fire!" the forward battalion commander roared, and fierce flames shot out, blood splattering everywhere—the blood of Japanese soldiers.

Undeterred by close combat, the Training Corps brought the Japanese troops within tens of meters before unleashing a sudden barrage of light and heavy machine gun fire, catching the enemy off guard with a surprise attack.

Japanese soldiers, riddled with bullets, fell one after another during their charge, the mere few dozen meters becoming an insurmountable death distance for them.

The Japanese assault teams retreated like a receding tide, and our troops greeted them with fierce machine gun fire, which accelerated their panicked escape. They wished they had two more legs, leaving behind a trail of corpses in the open field.

"Damn it, those despicable Chinese troops!" Ito Seiji was furious.

"Order the heavy artillery to bombard them!"

Another round of overwhelming artillery fire ensued.

Our main positions are as solid as a rock and remain unmoved.

The Japanese army increased its attacking force, and the densely packed Japanese soldiers, like locusts, once again rushed forward with great momentum.

Some of our concealed firing positions on the position have had their original camouflage removed, and more machine gun fire is fiercely confronting the Japanese army.

To the Japanese army's utter surprise, the machine gun strongpoints that they had previously thought had been destroyed not only reappeared, but there were even more of them than before. These strongpoints were like death warrants, filling them with fear and trembling with terror.

The charging Japanese troops were caught in a hail of bullets from our army, and Japanese soldiers were harvested by the fire and fell to the ground one after another.

"Charge! Charge!" The Japanese company commanders leading the charge shouted hoarsely, brandishing their swords.

They knew very well that if they retreated at this moment, it would mean leaving their backs to be indiscriminately riddled with our army's fierce machine gun fire. Only by rushing forward and engaging in close combat could they possibly find a chance.

The firepower density of our automatic weapons and the rain of mortar shells formed an impenetrable crossfire net, enveloping the Japanese attacking ranks in a deadly barrage with nowhere to hide, and completely shattering their illusions of breaking into close combat.

The Japanese troops' charging formation collapsed instantly, and they were routed in chaos.

Thump! Enraged, Ito Masaki slammed his fist hard on the map.

"Let the air force completely destroy the Chinese army's positions!"

Under the personal coordination of the Expeditionary Army Commander Matsui Iwane, the Japanese air force was dispatched again.

After the Training Corps withdrew its defenses, the anti-aircraft fire network consisting of more than 20 20mm anti-aircraft guns and a large number of anti-aircraft machine guns became even tighter, completely covering the entire defense area.

Under pressure from Matsui Iwane, the Japanese air force bravely carried out low-altitude bombing raids. After two planes were shot down on the spot, they completely lost the courage to dive at low altitude and slunk away.

Ito Masaki was furious and cursed loudly, but since airmen were more valuable than infantrymen, he had no choice but to order the airmen to bomb from high altitude.

However, the air force told him that the two armies were only a few hundred meters apart, and high-altitude bombing might cause friendly fire. The attacking troops needed to retreat to the nameless ditch, a dividing line that could be clearly seen from high altitude.

Upon hearing this, Ito Masayoshi almost coughed up blood!

We've paid such a high price to capture two lines of defense, and you want me to abandon all my previous efforts? Will the blood of thousands of imperial soldiers be shed in vain?

The words of the heavy artillery brigade commander, Eitaro Uchiyama, made him even more desperate: "The large-caliber shells allocated from the western front are almost exhausted. After this round, there will be none left."

Masaki Ito roared, "Organize a suicide squad to attack!"