Chapter 1 The Battle on Wenjialing

The intensity of the battle on the Wenjialing position completely exceeded the expectations of Captain Watari Yamato.

This wasn't how he had planned the defense.

Captain Watari imagined a defense where Sergeant Yamamoto Yuto's squad, equipped with the company's only heavy machine gun, could create a complete crossfire network with their two light machine guns.

This would pin down the attacking force outside the defensive line, inflicting heavy casualties on the Special Operations Brigade.

However, as the battle progressed, many things went awry: the strafing by the aircraft, the Special Operations Brigade's infantry guns and mortars.

Mortars, a cheap weapon, were standard equipment in modern armies.

But the attacking Special Operations Brigade used their mortars with uncanny accuracy, consistently hitting Yamamoto Yuto's squad.

This was too much for Yamamoto Yuto's squad to bear. They silently endured all the shells fired by the Second Company.

If reinforcements weren't sent soon, Yamamoto Yuto's squad would be finished, which wasn't important in itself.

What mattered was that the attacking Second Company would soon reach Wenjialing, and that was life-threatening.

With this in mind, Captain Watari Yamato didn't hesitate. He immediately ordered, "Isuzu Akira squad, advance!"

Without wasting words, Captain Isuzu Akira received the order and quickly led his squad forward.

These Japanese soldiers could see the situation at the front. They knew that Captain Watari would send a squad to reinforce the line, seeing that only a dozen or so soldiers remained in Yamamoto Yuto's squad.

The two squad leaders in the dugout were ready. Isuzu Akira's squad quickly rushed out and deployed along Yamamoto Yuto's defensive line.

The addition of fifty more soldiers, especially with two more machine guns, strengthened their firepower.

This infuriated Left Commander Zuo Xingsheng, the infantry gun operator in the rear: were the Japanese machine guns like weeds, impossible to eradicate?

Without needing orders, the two infantry guns and five mortars began firing at the two newly emerged machine gun positions.

When Company Commander Meng Qilue saw the Japanese machine guns firing again, he immediately ordered, "Take cover! Bazookas, take them out!"

As a result, Isuzu Akira's two machine guns became the focus of the entire battlefield, with all of Second Company's heavy firepower directed at them.

Captain Watari Yamato, Sergeant Yamamoto Yuto, Captain Isuzu Akira, and many other soldiers watched the two machine guns, seeing their long tongues of fire and hearing the continuous "da-da-da! da-da-da!"

This sound greatly encouraged the soldiers of Isuzu Akira's squad, who had just entered the battle, and Yamamoto Yuto's squad, who had suffered heavy casualties.

It sped up their firing, and the sound of the machine guns drove the rhythm of their movements.

The two machine guns, on which all the soldiers pinned their hopes, seemed unable to bear such expectations. Before the machine gun on the left could finish a single magazine, it suddenly exploded violently and flew into the air.

The machine gunner and his assistant were blown to pieces with it.

The sight shocked all the soldiers: it was a direct hit!

After that machine gun was destroyed, the remaining one acted like a magnet, attracting all the artillery fire.

It couldn't hold out for even three seconds before being struck by a rocket. The machine gun was blown aside, and the soldier operating it lay motionless in the trench.

The morale of the soldiers on the front line plummeted, having been so buoyed by the two machine guns moments before.

The number of soldiers on the defensive line had increased to nearly seventy with Isuzu Akira's reinforcement, but now it had been reduced again.

Misfortunes never come singly! It never rains but it pours!

Just as the two machine guns the soldiers relied on were destroyed, the "buzzing" sound of aircraft was heard again.

This time, the aircraft arrived extremely quickly. Before the soldiers on the position could react, a storm of bullets rained down from the sky.

Four long tongues of fire connected the aircraft and the Japanese fortifications, curving in arcs like the scythe of death, quickly reaping the lives of Isuzu Akira's squad on the position.

Captain Watari Yamato stood in the dugout, watching the aircraft mercilessly cut down his men.

Although there was still a squad of soldiers in the dugout, he could already see the future of the entire Watari Yamato Company, devoid of hope. Dafeng Novel

He had no choice but to request reinforcements from Battalion Commander Yamashita Yuso: "Report to the Battalion Commander! Sir! The enemy's firepower is too intense! Request artillery bombardment, request air guidance, request reinforcements!"

Captain Watari Yamato mentioned all the reinforcements he could think of, fulfilling his duty as a company commander.

Now it was time for him to fight to the death. Captain Watari Yamato drew his command sword and loudly ordered, "Advance!"

Under his command, all the remaining seventy or so soldiers in the dugout poured out.

This fresh force stabilized the precarious defensive line on Wenjialing once again.

Zuo Xingsheng watched the Japanese machine guns open fire again. Why wouldn't these soldiers obediently die? What were they still struggling for?

Their fate was sealed to die on Wenjialing anyway. The sooner they died, the sooner they could be reborn. They only needed to remember not to take up arms and invade other people's land in the next life.

Zuo Xingsheng was no longer willing to waste words on the Japanese. He would speak to them with artillery shells.

The truth was in the shells. He would reason with the Japanese soldiers in front with artillery shells!

Captain Watari Yamato, of course, would not consciously go to reincarnate. He was still struggling. He still wanted to create a miracle: what if he could hold out until

The reinforcements sent by Battalion Commander Yamashita Yuso arrived?

Captain Watari Yamato had already seen that the machine guns were being destroyed because the gunners were too stupid. They didn't know to fire from one place and then move to another.

Now he loudly ordered, "Only load twenty-five rounds into the machine gun magazines. Fire them all in one go. If you can't fire in bursts, then fire them all in full auto.

After firing one magazine, immediately move to another location, reload, and continue firing."

His learning ability was very quick. He had quickly grasped the essence of guerrilla warfare: shoot and run!

Cunning Japanese! Zuo Xingsheng slapped his thigh in anger for the third time. He had already fired at the Japanese machine guns three times.

He hadn't hit them once. It wasn't that he hadn't hit the Japanese machine gun's position, or he wouldn't have slapped his thigh.

He had performed exceptionally all three times, hitting the position each time. But the Japanese had retreated before his shells arrived.

This was what angered him the most. Now the Japanese two light machine guns were maneuvering on their defensive line, suddenly popping out, firing a burst, and then running.

The entire process took only a few seconds, making it impossible for the two infantry guns and five mortars to effectively target them.

Now, the only way to strike the Japanese two machine guns was with bazookas.

Company Commander Meng was also somewhat annoyed. The Japanese only had two machine guns, but they were as nimble as fleas.

The continuous fire from the machine guns was clearly suppressing Second Company. Company Commander Meng ordered the company's three bazooka operators: aim carefully! Fire accurately!

Zou Tonghe finally calmed down. He no longer rushed to pursue the constantly moving Japanese machine gunners. He carefully recalled the machine gun's movements on the defensive line. The machine gun on the left always moved about thirteen or fourteen meters to the right.

When it reached the middle of the position, it started moving to the left again. It was always like that.

Zou Tonghe told Meng Qilue his speculation. Meng Qilue didn't hesitate and immediately ordered the three bazooka operators in the company to aim at Zou Tonghe's predicted position, waiting for the Japanese machine gun to appear.

Gunner Nakajima Keisuke became increasingly excited as he fired. When he first entered the battlefield, he felt certain he would die.

He didn't expect that after receiving Captain's personal instructions, he could fire from one place and move to another. Not only had he not died, but he was also able to pin down the attacking force at the foot of the hill.

This made him very proud. He couldn't help but hum a little tune as he reloaded the magazine in the trench.

He looked forward to the rewards after this battle. Having performed so well on the battlefield today, the Captain would definitely let him visit the comfort women several more times during the rest period.

He loaded the magazine, moved positions, and the soldiers in this position immediately gave him space.

This position was originally occupied by a soldier with a Type 38 rifle, whose firing rate was slow because of the loading and unloading process.

Now this position belonged to the gunner Nakajima Keisuke. He became serious again: he rested the machine gun on the trench, took one look, and immediately lowered the muzzle and began firing.

Just as he opened fire, Nakajima Keisuke saw three flashes of light from the attacking force at the foot of the hill in the corner of his eye.

He had seen this situation before, but this time he felt a sense of danger from the bottom of his heart.

His mind registered the danger, but his body couldn't react in time.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Three explosions rang out in succession.

The explosion occurred right at gunner Nakajima Keisuke's position, and the machine gun flew into the sky once again.

The soldiers of Second Company couldn't help but cheer, "Nice shot!"

Zou Tonghe and the other two weren't arrogant. There was still one machine gun firing; they had to take it out too.

With the previous experience, the three bazooka operators quickly figured out the Japanese soldier's pattern.

As long as the Japanese machine gunner didn't die, he would carry the machine gun with him, so his pattern was traceable.

Captain Watari Yamato watched as the last two machine guns of the entire company were destroyed.

He couldn't believe it: they were already firing from one place and moving to another. How did the attacking Special Operations Brigade take them out?

In the end, Captain Watari Yamato could only conclude that it was the will of the heavens that they should die, so the two machine guns just happened to run into the national army's shells.

Having lost their two machine guns, the soldiers of the Watari Yamato Company were already somewhat demoralized, but then the "buzzing" of aircraft engines overhead made the soldiers of the entire company even more desperate.

This was the third time they had seen this type of aircraft come to the Wenjialing position to show off its power, wreaking havoc without restraint.

Company Commander Meng Qilue didn't wait any longer. As soon as he saw the aircraft arrive, he ordered, "Charge!"

The aircraft strafed from left to right, and Second Company charged from the foot of the hill all the way to the summit.

Captain Watari Yamato had just ducked his head to avoid the attack from the air. Before he could even take a look at the situation of the entire company on the defensive line, he saw that the attacking force had reached a position less than fifty meters from the position.

This made him shout in a panic, "Fire! Fire!"

Sparse gunfire rang out, but such a low density of fire couldn't stop the Special Operations Brigade's attack from below.

Captain Watari Yamato became anxious, "Increase the rate of fire! Increase the rate of fire!"

His tone was hurried, constantly urging them. Although the gunfire on the entire defensive line increased somewhat, it still didn't satisfy Captain Watari Yamato.

He finally stopped staring only at the attacking force and turned his gaze to his own defensive line: many soldiers were lying scattered in the trenches, all of them sharing one thing in common: a pool of blood beneath their bodies, the area of which was still expanding.

Some soldiers were already lifeless, some were still struggling, and only a few soldiers were still lying prone by the edge of the trench, persisting in firing at the Special Operations Brigade soldiers charging up.

Less than thirty soldiers in the entire company were still fighting. No wonder the gunfire was so sparse.

Such sparse firepower was simply unable to weave a net to stop the Special Operations Brigade's attack.

Watching Second Company getting closer and closer, Captain Watari Yamato had no choice but to issue the final order: "Fix bayonets! Fight them to the death!"

This time, he himself no longer had any confidence of victory. In fact, he had already lost his confidence of victory after Yamamoto Yuto's squad was attacked.

All the living soldiers heard the despair and death wish in the Captain's tone.

Some of these soldiers still wanted to live. But the education they had received since childhood prevented them from wanting to live.

In their eyes, no matter how much they had done, no matter how many merits they had earned, they would all be worthless if they became prisoners of war.

If they became prisoners of war, not only would they become a disgrace to the entire empire, but their relatives and their families would be dishonored as well.

These soldiers who didn't want to die now had no choice but to seek death! They tremblingly fixed bayonets to their Type 38 rifles.

Shouting, they charged out of the trenches and rushed towards Second Company, trying to use the shouts from their mouths to mask the fear in their hearts.

Second Company's officers and soldiers had never shied away from bayonet fighting. They shouted the same thing: Kill! Marching in unison, with the same rhythm, they thrust at the charging Japanese soldiers.

After receiving Captain Watari Yamato's call for help, Battalion Commander Yamashita Yuso immediately requested artillery support from Regiment Commander Numata Takakazou.

They all knew that there was an entire field artillery regiment in Huoshan! Now was the time for them to show their power.

What they didn't know was that the Twenty-second Field Artillery Regiment was struggling in the crematorium at this time.