Military orders are like mountains!

Understand and execute!

Even if you don't understand, execute!

In reality, at this moment, Mitsuhashi Kota, the commander of the 44th Regiment of the 22nd Brigade, had no better solution.

He also had no good way to lead the Japanese troops out of their predicament.

Not to mention that Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu had pointed out a direction, which was much better than blindly rushing around without a direction.

After receiving the order to retreat.

The Aoyama Yuto battalion, at the rear of the 44th Infantry Regiment, became the vanguard of the entire 22nd Infantry Brigade.

They now had to rush to the front to clear the way.

Whether it was the regimental commander Mitsuhashi Kota or the battalion commander Aoyama Yuto, they both clearly understood:

There was a special operations brigade blocking the way behind them!

They didn't know the special operations brigade's purpose when that unit seized the mountain peaks.

Now they understood: those people had long anticipated that the 22nd Infantry Brigade would run back.

They had occupied several mountain peaks early on to cut off their retreat! Mao Wenxing, who had been guiding artillery fire from the air, saw the Japanese suddenly turn back towards Nanjing.

He immediately notified Li Zhi Ze's 10th Regiment, which was busy at the rear, via radio.

Li Zhi Ze's 10th Regiment had five units occupying mountain peaks, all of which were digging positions on the slopes and summits.

The remaining companies had just received orders to clean up the battlefield below the mountains.

Planting directional mines!

According to Lin Fan's plan: these Japanese were definitely going to retrace their steps.

To reduce casualties for the special operations brigade and prevent these Japanese from being cornered and retaliating desperately.

The 10th Regiment didn't need to fight the Japanese to the death here.

Nor did they need to engage in a battle that would result in heavy losses on both sides.

Li Zhi Ze's regiment only needed to yield the main road and snipe from the mountains.

Inflicting maximum casualties on the Japanese.

Even if some of the Japanese escaped, it didn't matter.

From this battlefield, the Japanese had eighty *li* to go to escape back.

On the eighty *li* road back, the special operations brigade had set up many battlefields that these Japanese would have to traverse one by one.

Upon receiving intelligence from Mao Wenxing that the Japanese had begun to turn back.

Sixth Company Commander Mei De said: We've only been on the battlefield for less than half an hour.

Are we going back so soon?

The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth companies were all responsible for cleaning up the battlefield.

When they had just cleaned up the Japanese field hospital, they saw the ground covered with Japanese corpses wrapped in bandages.

Occasionally, there were a few Japanese still groaning.

Before Company Commander Wu Ming could speak, the soldiers had already acted according to the special operations brigade's rules.

The Japanese had suffered heavy casualties today.

Company Commander Wu Ming had seen at least a thousand corpses in this temporary Japanese hospital.

"What are these Japanese doing collecting corpses together?" he pretended not to know.

The huge craters around these corpses could explain the problem.

Li Zhi Ze issued retreat orders to the several companies at the foot of the mountain.

These several companies were the reserve force he had prepared.

Now it was time for them to return.

The 44th Infantry Regiment's commander, Uzama Sokaita, watched the Yamanaka Haruki battalion charge.

This was the last infantry battalion in his regiment.

Before this, three infantry battalion commanders had fallen on those mountain slopes in front.

It wasn't that the Japanese were too weak, but that the special operations brigade on the other side was too cunning:

They always lured his infantry battalion to the front of the position, then used bombs to destroy the entire battalion.

Even now, Uzama Sokaita still didn't understand:

What kind of bombs were the special operations brigade planting on the mountain slopes that could blow the Japanese away time and time again.

Each time, it was thousands of Japanese!

Uzama Sokaita very much wanted to learn how to make this kind of bomb.

But he didn't dare to rush to the front.

Now, he could see: the unit on the mountain peak opposite.

Had strong and fierce firepower.

Even without bombs, just using cannons and machine guns, the entire 22nd Brigade, with its current firepower, would not be able to break through.

Now his mood had sunk to the eighteenth level of hell.

Uzama Sokaita felt that if they continued to fight like this, all the Japanese of the entire 22nd Infantry Brigade would report to the eighteenth level of hell.

Fortunately, Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu sent an order to retreat in time.

Upon receiving the order, Uzama Sokaita did not hesitate and immediately ordered the last battalion to retreat.

The Yamanaka Haruki battalion retreated from its attack.

At this time, there was no need to consider morale.

The Japanese in the entire Yamanaka Haruki battalion had long seen the situation clearly:

Their soldiers' previous attack route.

Was a road to the underworld, with no chance of survival.

Because several infantry battalions had already verified it with their lives.

Upon receiving the order not to go that road to the underworld again.

The soldiers couldn't help but cheer.

Now they finally had a way to survive, and they were getting further and further away from that road to the underworld.

Although the Yamanaka Haruki battalion didn't have to attack, they still had to bear the task of covering the retreat.

This was Uzama Sokaita's mission.

Now, of course, he had to place this heavy burden on the unit that was just at the very front of the entire brigade.

However, Uzama Sokaita had already found a position for covering the retreat.

It was on the mountain peak that had just been heavily bombarded by the special operations brigade's artillery.

He ordered the Yamanaka Haruki battalion to establish a position on the mountain peak with seven or eight huge craters to snipe the special operations brigade's pursuit.

Battalion Commander Yamanaka Haruki certainly understood what Uzama Sokaita meant:

Relying on the seven craters could save a lot of time and energy in digging trenches.

Craters nearly two meters deep were the best cover.

Shang Wenxuan and Jia Shusheng saw that the Japanese were retreating instead of advancing.

They also heard Mao Wenxing's report on the radio that the Japanese of the entire 22nd Infantry Brigade had all turned around.

They were all running away.

Even so, Jia Shusheng still waited until the Yamanaka Haruki battalion had withdrawn five hundred meters from the battlefield before ordering the troops:

Charge out of the position and clean up the battlefield!

The artillery fire of the two regiments had not stopped.

It had been maintained to bombard the Japanese infantry.

Today, the special operations brigade ambushed a unit of over ten thousand Japanese.

It was the first time the special operations brigade had taken the initiative to attack a Japanese brigade.

Jia Shusheng was very cautious. He was afraid that the Japanese would launch a counterattack, so he waited until the Japanese had withdrawn five hundred meters before sending soldiers to clean up the battlefield.

The special operations brigade's heavy artillery bombardment finally stopped.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu looked at the gunboat docked by the river: with this reference point, he had been walking back and forth today.

Now he had returned to the place where the entire army had stopped to rest.

Looking at the traces on the ground where he and Commander Shinka Reo had sat together.

How happy and high-spirited they had been at the time!

At that time, when Commander Shinka Reo talked about attacking Dangtu next:

His 11th Squadron could use machine guns from the Yangtze River to block all the special operations brigade's firepower, and use artillery to bombard the special operations brigade's position.

At that time, he was also talking about the infantry's plan: the 11th Mountain Artillery Regiment could directly destroy the special operations brigade with a round of artillery fire.

Whether they were willing or not, they only had one way to go: escape.

Only a few hours had passed, and the words he had just said here were still echoing in his ears.

All the gunboats of the 11th Naval Squadron were out of action. There were more than a thousand Japanese in the 11th Squadron.

Now only three hundred were left alive.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu's gaze looked towards the position of the 11th Naval Squadron:

These three hundred Japanese had regained some fighting spirit at this time. At least they all had guns in their hands.

Commander Shinka Reo looked at the position Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was watching.

That was the place where they had discussed strategy three hours ago.

It was also where they had engaged in armchair strategy.

How wonderful they had imagined it to be at the time, and how cruel reality was.

However, he had recovered from the blow:

Many of the more than three hundred Japanese under his command had been empty-handed when they had just come down from the gunboats.

Under his orders, these Japanese constantly picked up weapons from the corpses and finally armed this unit of more than three hundred Japanese.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was somewhat regretful at this time: he should not have rested here just now.

The feng shui of this place was not good.

No matter how you looked at this mountain peak, it looked like a grenade, and that one looked like a cannonball, and the Yangtze River was like a knife.

A knife stabbing the heart!

Stabbing right in the position where he had just been sitting.

Just as Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was deeply reflecting.

The sounds of guns and artillery behind him all stopped.

The heavy artillery bombardment in front also stopped.

Only the reconnaissance plane overhead continued to circle.

The whole world suddenly became quiet: if it weren't for the groans of the wounded.

The entire world became quiet, and it immediately made the Japanese of the 22nd Infantry Brigade feel happy.

Since they had been ambushed, these Japanese had not experienced this feeling of peace of mind again.

Now they finally felt it again: the world was so beautiful.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was clear: this was the darkness before dawn!

A greater blow would definitely come next.

He ordered: "Send a telegram to Nanjing: the entire aviation group has been wiped out, the 22nd Infantry Brigade has suffered heavy casualties, and the number of soldiers has been reduced by more than half.

My unit is trying to break through towards Nanjing!"

This time, he did not dare to suggest that the air force come to direct the battlefield again.

Judging from the performance of the special operations brigade just now, if they could not send hundreds of planes at once, with the intention of losing hundreds of planes.

It would be impossible to inflict a devastating blow on the special operations brigade's artillery positions.

He had such an estimate, and of course he knew that the entire Central China Expeditionary Force could not do this.

Now, he had only one vague idea in his mind: "If only a infantry unit could be sent to meet them."

As an excellent senior commander, Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu did not believe that the special operations brigade's so precise battlefield tactics.

Would give up attacking the 22nd Infantry Brigade all the way from here to Nanjing.

The road back was not easier than the road to attack! But there was always a glimmer of hope in going back.

This glimmer of hope was the strength supporting Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu to continue walking.

The headquarters of the Central China Expeditionary Force had been waiting for a response ever since they had sent two air groups to support the 22nd Infantry Brigade.

Hard work pays off!

The response they wanted to wait for finally arrived.

However, this response made all the Japanese in the entire headquarters dare not believe it.

When they contacted the 22nd Infantry Brigade again and confirmed that the news was correct.

All the Japanese, including the commander of the expeditionary force, Yan Junroku, were stunned.

Just now, they were pointing out the country on the sand table, planning that the 22nd Infantry Brigade would occupy Dangtu today.

Occupy Wuhu tomorrow.

The 19th Brigade of the 16th Division would capture Tangshan tomorrow, and the 30th Brigade would capture Chunhua.

In the next few days, they would be able to take back all the territory that the special operations brigade had worked so hard to manage for two months.

All these beautiful plans and visions, like soap bubbles of hope, were colorful and so fascinating.

But they could not stand the test of time and reality. It had only been less than two hours.

The soap bubble of hope burst.

As an old staff officer who had experienced being attacked by the special operations brigade last time: Ashiki Yuki had predicted this situation long ago.

However, he dared not say anything.

Even more so now, he certainly could not say that this result was within his expectations.

If he dared to say this, the commander of the Central China Expeditionary Force, Yan Junroku, would certainly not think he was a genius, or think he was a military strategist.

He would only question him why he did not mention these things when formulating the plan.

Or directly send him back to the embrace of Amaterasu.

Staff Officer Ashiki Yuki was clear: there was not so much mutual appreciation in this world, only mutual harm in reality.

No one was willing to accept the feeling of being intellectually crushed.

Especially when everyone had made a mistake, it was best to solve the person who had not pointed out the mistake.

In this way, everyone had made a mistake, and the mistake could be forgiven.

Now, Staff Officer Ashiki Yuki had a sorrowful expression on his face.

Standing in front of the sand table, staring fixedly at the line representing the railway.

All the Japanese here knew that the line was the 22nd Infantry Brigade's line of march.

It was also their line of retreat now, and it had now become the 22nd Infantry Brigade's lifeline.

The commander of the Central China Expeditionary Force, Yan Junroku, was worthy of being a leader.

He quickly recovered from the blow: "Gentlemen! We should do something for Kuroiwa-kun."

Commander Yan Junroku personally picked up the baton and pointed to the railway line.

"The 22nd Infantry Brigade's retreat route is only along the railway line.

Although we don't know how the two air groups were shot down by the special operations brigade.

But we can't send air groups to support them again now.

Everyone, see if there is any way to meet the 22nd Infantry Brigade?"

Immediately a staff officer said: "Commander! Send the Third Fleet up the river. From Nanjing to Dangtu is less than sixty kilometers.

Sending warships will only take one and a half hours to arrive.

And this will not affect our combat plan for tomorrow.

The special operations brigade ambushed the 22nd Infantry Brigade today, and their main force must all be in Dangtu.

Tomorrow the army's actions will be very smooth!"

Another staff officer immediately said: "We used the 22nd Infantry Regiment as bait to lure all the main force of the special operations brigade to Dangtu.

Tomorrow, taking advantage of the special operations brigade's empty forces, we will attack."

The Japanese present, upon hearing the analysis of these two staff officers, immediately felt: "It makes sense! It makes so much sense."

Time was of the essence.

The commander of the Central China Expeditionary Force, Yan Junroku, immediately ordered:

The Third Fleet immediately sent warships to meet the 22nd Infantry Brigade's retreat.

This order was particularly urgent!

The commander of the Third Fleet, Tanimura Seikawa, heard that the 11th Squadron he had sent had been completely wiped out.

The Hoshida Ryuto Flight Group of the 5th Air Combat Group of the Third Fleet, which had been sent out, was completely wiped out.

The 22nd Infantry Brigade had suffered more than half of its casualties!

The news was more shocking than the last!

After the shock, he immediately felt the seriousness of the situation.

Was the situation of his Third Fleet attacking Jiangyin Fortress going to be repeated?

Commander Tanimura Seikawa felt uneasy.

In any case, the 22nd Infantry Brigade could not be left unsaved.

No matter how afraid he was, he had to issue the order: the Third Fleet prepared to depart.

The departure of a naval fleet was not like the army, which could leave as soon as it said.

Those heavy cruisers all used steam boilers as power.

Just boiling the water in the boiler took a few hours for the short ones and a day for the long ones.

Some small ships could leave immediately.

The commander of the Third Fleet, Tanimura Seikawa, learned from his mistakes!

This time, he was unwilling to send these small ships to depart first.

While the large warships were firing up their boilers, Commander Tanimura Seikawa held a military conference.

At the meeting, he particularly emphasized: "This time, to go to rescue, all large ships must not cross the midline of the Yangtze River.

When sailing, they should all sail on the north bank side.

Be prepared to respond to attacks from the south bank at any time.

When departing, bring some civilian cargo ships and fishing boats.

Use these ships to cross the river to pick up people at that time, equipment or anything else doesn't matter.

As long as Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu is rescued."

Seeing that the Japanese under his command had an expression of incomprehension.

Fleet Commander Tanimura Seikawa said earnestly:

"Two flight groups, not a single plane escaped.

The 11th Squadron, eleven gunboats, were completely wiped out!

In this situation, haven't you remembered anything?"

None of the Japanese present opened their mouths to answer.

"Jiangyin! Have you all forgotten the lessons you learned in Jiangyin?

In that place, we were completely blown up by the Jiangyin Fortresses in the entire Chinese Front Army.

Our warships, even heavy cruisers, were seriously damaged!

I suspect that the one in Dangtu this time is that unit.

I heard they are now called the Special Operations Brigade!"

Hearing the commander mention Jiangyin, these naval captains finally remembered.

During this time, they had been staying in Nanjing City, and had been overwhelmed by the honor of capturing the capital of an enemy country.

At this time, they were a little more awake.

With a unified mind, the commander of the Third Fleet, Tanimura Seikawa, finally breathed a sigh of relief: if everyone thinks in the same direction and puts their energy in the same direction!

This rescue mission will be easier.

Now, none of his subordinates proposed to leave immediately: they were all patiently waiting for the heavy cruisers of the Third Fleet to be able to move before leaving together.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu learned that the Chinese Front Army had sent the Third Fleet to rescue him.

His desperate heart was like a person about to drown, grasping at a straw.

He immediately conveyed this good news to the entire brigade.

However, his order did not change: retreat.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was now clear: they could not get on the ship on this section of the river.

The special operations brigade's heavy artillery could bombard them at any time. What kind of warship could withstand a 150 mm heavy cannon?

His troops were completely overwhelmed by the bombing.

He still did not know where the special operations brigade's heavy artillery positions were.

He only knew the approximate location of the special operations brigade's heavy artillery positions.

This was still because when the flight group came over, they flew towards the heavy artillery positions.

Only then did their infantry find the approximate location.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was now also very helpless: even if he knew the location of the special operations brigade's heavy artillery positions.

He had no way to think about it now.

Send a unit over?

This was simply impossible.

He had been paying attention to the 43rd Regiment's attack just now.

The empire's warriors were still warriors!

It was just that the opponent was no longer the previous National Army, but the soldiers of the special operations brigade.

It was not that his subordinates were too weak, but that the special operations brigade was too strong!

It was not that we were too weak, but that the opponent was too strong!

The 44th Regiment's infantry battalion commander, Aoyama Yuto, now also uttered the same sigh!

His battalion was ordered to be the vanguard of the 22nd Infantry Brigade's retreat.

Before the unit had reached the lost mountain peak, they saw the position where the First Field Hospital had abandoned the wounded.

All the wounded were dead.

At this time, it was impossible to tell whether they had died from their injuries.

Or whether they had been bombed to death by heavy artillery.

Anyway, there were several huge craters around these wounded.

Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto did not care whether the wounded were dead or not.

What he cared about was that the Shibamoto Yuki squad, which he had sent to scout in the front, had encountered a mine and been blown up.

At this time, Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto did not know that this kind of bomb had wiped out all three battalions of the 43rd Regiment.

He only saw the Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad walking well on the road.

Suddenly, two sparks burst from the side of the road, and then there were two loud explosions.

A full squad of nearly two hundred Japanese, more than a hundred fell down.

Such a loss was too frightening.

Squad Commander Shibamoto Yuki was fortunate that he only had a shrapnel wound on his arm.

He shouted in horror: "Mine! We have been attacked by a mine!"

Thinking of the special operations brigade soldiers on the mountain peak in front, Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto also felt:

The possibility of encountering a mine attack was very high.

"What to do?" Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto was a little difficult.

He was anxious!

The army was retreating, although there were no planes strafing overhead now, and there was no heavy artillery bombardment.

But God knew when these attacks would come again.

Mine!

Let the engineers go to clear the mine at this time?

Don't even think about it.

Of the more than three hundred Japanese in the entire engineering team, less than fifty were alive.

And all their supplies had been abandoned.

Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto, after all, was still a battalion commander!

He saw the mules and horses that were still being led in the supply team.

Suddenly, he had an idea: using these mules and horses to trigger the mine was much better than using the Japanese under his command to trigger the mine.

This work was not easy to do!

Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto ordered: "Squad Commander Shibamoto Yuki! You go to the supply team and borrow ten pack horses.

Use these pack horses to walk in the front!"

Squad Commander Shibamoto Yuki had just escaped death, and his feet were still soft.

Hearing Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto ask him to find pack horses to be scapegoats.

He immediately rushed to the supply team. The commander of the 11th Supply Regiment, Tomoike Shotaro, faced these dozens of Japanese who had just escaped death.

These Japanese, with injuries all over their bodies, were menacing.

He dared not say that he would not lend the pack horses.

Not only were these soldiers' clothes all red with blood, but even their eyes were red.

In fact, most of the blood on the bodies of these Japanese who had not died in the Shibamoto Yuki squad.

Was the blood of the other dead and wounded Japanese.

Those wounded Japanese were still groaning on the ground at this time.

It was just that temporarily no Japanese had the time or energy to take care of them.

Even the surviving doctors and nurses in that field hospital did not dare to go over.

Today, these doctors and nurses were also educated: from the beginning of the battle until now.

These doctors and nurses had been busy non-stop.

Until now, they had not saved a single Japanese.

Not only had they not saved a single Japanese, but the casualties among these doctors and nurses had long exceeded half.

Especially when they saw that the wounded they had just abandoned had now all become dead Japanese.

This killed all the work that these doctors and nurses had done today.

The director of the First Field Hospital, Muto Akito, felt that he was about to become depressed.

This time, when they saw Japanese being injured in front.

Struggling and groaning on the ground, they did not care.

At this time, nothing was more important than escaping back to Nanjing first.

Squad Commander Shibamoto Yuki borrowed five pack horses from the 11th Supply Regiment.

They led these five horses to the position they had just walked through.

Then, they stabbed the horses' buttocks hard with a knife.

Although pack horses were docile in nature.

After being stabbed with this knife, they neighed in pain.

They ran away, running all the way along the road.

The five pack horses ran until they could not be seen.

They did not hear an explosion.

Could it be that the people of the special operations brigade only planted mines in this place?

In any case, the pack horses had triggered the mine.

It was safe on this road.

The march of the 44th Regiment, which had just stopped.

Started again.

This time, they did not encounter mines.

Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto looked at the front. There were still three hundred meters to the position where the squad commander of the 1st Company, Kurao Koki, had died honorably.

Although he did not see anyone on the mountain peak.

But he was still very scared.

He ordered the entire battalion to stop here.

Wait for the Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad to go to the mountain peak in front to reconnoiter first.

The Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad moved forward cautiously, with their hearts in their mouths.

There were only fifty-odd Japanese left in this squad.

Rather than calling it a squad, it was better to call it a platoon.

Wasn't a platoon just fifty-four Japanese?

Just when these Japanese, unwillingly and reluctantly, walked to a position two hundred meters away from the target.

A continuous series of explosions suddenly came from behind.

The Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad were sensitive to this sound: this was the explosion that had just blown up their squad.

These Japanese first lay prostrate on the ground, and then looked back.

Keeping themselves safe was more important than anything else! This was what the Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad had concluded today.

Because they saw that no Japanese was willing to help those who were injured.

The Japanese of the entire Shibamoto Yuki squad looked back and saw:

The road they had just walked through was filled with smoke. The continuous smoke on the entire road extended far into the distance.

Those were the Japanese of the 44th Infantry Regiment, the 11th Engineer Regiment, the 11th Supply Regiment, and the field hospital.

They had all fallen into the smoke.

They did not know if they were doing well?

The Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad whispered to each other.

Squad Commander Shibamoto Yuki was now in a somewhat awkward situation: should he retreat now?

Or should he continue to reconnoiter?

He was a little unsure!

Anyway, he was lying on the ground now, there was no danger, and he could lie down for a while longer.

The wind was strong by the river.

The smoke was quickly blown away by the wind.

The Japanese of the Shibamoto Yuki squad, who had been paying attention to the situation in the area shrouded in smoke.

Finally saw clearly: those Japanese who had been blown up were similar to the results of their squad.

More than half of them were killed or wounded, and less than a third survived.

This time, it was not Battalion Commander Aoyama Yuto who was angry.

The commander of the 44th Regiment, Mitsuhashi Kotaro, roared loudly:

"Mine! This is a daisy chain mine!

What are the engineers doing?

What are the troops in front doing?"

He looked at his regiment, and after being ravaged by heavy artillery, there were only two thousand Japanese left in the entire regiment.

Now, after such an explosion, there were not even a thousand Japanese left.

The movement of this explosion was very loud.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu felt it.

He sent a signal soldier to inquire about the situation.

Hearing that there were less than a thousand Japanese left in the 44th Infantry Regiment, Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu could no longer endure such a blow.

He shouted: "This is not fair!"

He drew out his command knife and stabbed it into his stomach.

He wanted to commit seppuku to show his determination!

Commander Shinka Reo of the 11th Naval Squadron, who was beside Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu, quickly stopped him.

Just kidding: Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu was a major general, and he was only a colonel.

Someone must be held responsible for this defeat.

More than ten thousand Japanese had died. This pot was too big for him to carry.

Only a major general like Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu could carry the pot.

If he committed seppuku here, it would fulfill his reputation.

But he was sure to carry this pot.

No matter what, he could not let Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu die.

At least he could not let him die here.

If he wanted to die, he had to wait until he returned to Nanjing before dying.

At that time, when he committed seppuku again, he would not only not stop him.

He would definitely send him on his way.

Commander Shinka Reo said loudly: "Brigade Commander! This time, it is not our fault in battle.

It is really that the firepower of the special operations brigade is too strong!

We have no air support, and our artillery is not as large as theirs.

This cannot be blamed on us!"

After being impulsive for a moment, Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu had calmed down now after being stopped.

He put away his command knife and did not say a word!

At this time, there was the sound of gunfire again from behind.

The sound of gunfire had not been heard for a while.

When they had just retreated, the special operations brigade had not sent anyone to chase them at all.

After Lin Fan knew that the Japanese had begun to retreat to Nanjing, he ordered Jia Shusheng:

"The 3rd Regiment will hold its ground in place until dark, and then return to Dangtu to defend against the Japanese attack on the city.

Shang Wenxuan's 13th Regiment will chase behind the Japanese.

There is no need to chase too closely. Just hang on to the tail of the Japanese.

Just harass the Japanese and don't let them rest.

Be careful not to fall into the ambush of the Japanese!"

Lin Fan knew: "People who have just done something big or made a great achievement are a little inflated.

The same is true for combat.

But this kind of expansion is the easiest to suffer losses.

The 13th Regiment, today's ambush of the Japanese, fought such a beautiful blocking battle.

It is simply the first great victory that the entire 13th Regiment has fought since its establishment.

I am afraid that Shang Wenxuan is proud!"

Regimental Commander Shang Wenxuan heard Lin Fan say this with his own ears.

He quickly expressed his position and said: "Report to the Brigade Commander! I will definitely not rush forward. I will only put a company in front.

Keep harassing behind the Japanese.

My regiment will try to use mortar attacks."

Lin Fan said with a smile: "Good! Regimental Commander Shang, using mortars is a good method.

We have already won the previous major battle today.

Whether or not we can maintain the victory until the end.

The rear guard is your 13th Regiment.

The front guard who is intercepting them is Li Zhi Ze's 10th Regiment.

Be sure to remember: our strategic goal has been achieved.

Now it is to be stable!

Keep the victory stable until the end!"

"Yes!"

In today's blocking battle, not to mention Shang Wenxuan, even all the officers and soldiers of the entire 13th Regiment were very excited.

Their regiment had not fought before.

They had fought victories and defeats.

But in the past, they were all fighting civil wars.

The only time they fought against the Japanese was in Nanjing City, and the result was a great defeat.

Today, although there was Jia Shusheng's 3rd Regiment assisting, the 3rd Regiment only had four companies.

The 13th Regiment had a full ten companies.

It could be said that the 13th Regiment was the main force in today's blocking battle.

This was what made the officers and soldiers of the entire regiment proud.

They repelled three attacks by the Japanese, and each attack involved thousands of Japanese.

Such a front line, not to mention that it was fought by their regiment.

Even in the past, if the entire 66th Army could achieve such a result.

It would also make Army Commander Ye Zhao proud.

Therefore, after the order to pursue the Japanese was issued, these officers and soldiers all wanted to run faster.

Catch up with the Japanese and wipe out the Japanese! Regimental Commander Shang Wenxuan had been told by Lin Fan not to chase too closely.

Just trail behind the Japanese and prevent the Japanese rear guard from being able to escape in peace.

In order to best complete the task assigned by the brigade commander.

Regimental Commander Shang Wenxuan gave the task of chasing the Japanese to the 1st Company.

He repeated Lin Fan's words verbatim.

Company Commander Ding Wenshi finally understood the regiment commander's concern.

He patted his chest and guaranteed: "Regimental Commander! Don't worry, I will be careful.

I won't chase too closely, I will just hang behind the Japanese and bombard them with mortars.

I will strafe them with heavy machine guns."

"Good! Good! That's how to do it!" Shang Wenxuan was happy.

The 43rd Regiment's battalion commander, Yamanaka Haruki, looked at the unit trailing behind him.

He was so depressed that he wanted to vomit blood: a unit had appeared behind his battalion.

They were following him from a distance, constantly bombarding him with mortars.

When the Yamanaka Haruki battalion sent troops to attack, they strafed them with heavy machine guns.

The troops that were sent out did not dare to attack.

When they retreated, the unit chasing from behind began to bombard them again.

This was completely unethical!

In fact, Battalion Commander Yamanaka Haruki was also clear: the other party was simply using a strategy to tire out the troops.

Using a small number of troops to keep the entire battalion running around.

Waiting for an opportunity to deliver the final fatal blow.

Did he want to ignore the bombing from behind?

The entire battalion was retreating with difficulty in the artillery fire.

From time to time, Japanese were hit by artillery shells.

Battalion Commander Yamanaka Haruki looked at the entire battalion, and now the number of troops had decreased by more than one-third.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu had now reached the position where the 44th Regiment had been attacked by directional mines.

Looking at the ground, there were still long-lived Japanese struggling and groaning.

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu directly took these wails as background music.

He frowned and looked ahead: "What's going on?"

The commander of the 44th Infantry Regiment, Mitsuhashi Kotaro, quickly reported:

"Brigade Commander! The mountain peak in front has been occupied by the soldiers of the special operations brigade.

They began to seize the position when our army had just passed through this section of the road.

Now, the special operations brigade has built complete fortifications and trenches on the mountain peak.

Our army is attacking."

"How many mountain peaks have been captured?" Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu asked.

"Not a single one has been captured!" Commander Mitsuhashi Kotaro replied.

"Time! What we care most about now is time. I will give you ten minutes. Can you capture five mountain peaks?"

Brigade Commander Kuroiwa Yoshikatsu gave an impossible task.

Mitsuhashi Kotaro's face suddenly turned red and he began to sweat.

He hesitated for a long time before finally saying: "Report to the Brigade Commander! It is not that I am not afraid,

It is really that the 44th Regiment cannot do it