Ito Yuta looked out from the narrow observation hole and saw the defending soldiers on the opposite side.

One by one, they were hitting his tank with the weapons in their hands. When they realized that such attacks were completely ineffective, despair appeared on the faces of all the defenders.

Seeing this situation, Ito Yuta felt an indescribable excitement.

He wanted to rush up and occupy their position when the defenders were in despair.

To destroy a nation, the most important thing is to destroy their will.

Similarly, to attack a team, if you can first bring down the morale of the team, you have already succeeded halfway.

What Ito Yuta wants to do now is to strike at the soldiers of the 382nd Brigade, and even the soldiers of the entire 128th Division.

Seeing the defenders in front of him helpless against him, Ito Yuta's mood improved more and more.

He deliberately stopped, so that those defenders who were still firing at him could aim more accurately.

Of course, Ito Yuta didn't stop without a purpose. He just wanted to give the gunner a chance to take out the machine guns on the front of the position, clearing obstacles for the infantry following behind the tank.

Ito Yuta turned the turret, allowing the gunner to fire at the machine guns that were still firing.

Faced with this iron lump that was completely unafraid of bullets, the Tan Wenlie's 382nd Brigade, which was defending the front, could only send soldiers to rush out and blow it up from under the tank's belly.

These soldiers, holding explosive packs, rushed out of the trenches.

They knew this was a mission with nine deaths and only one chance of survival.

When Zhang Yaowen rushed out with the explosive pack, he only had one thought in his mind: to blow up the iron-shelled vehicle in front.

He was not alone in the fight, and he was not the only one with the same mission.

Six soldiers, covering each other, were trying to blow up the approaching Japanese armored vehicle.

Although the machine guns on the position could not penetrate the Japanese armored vehicle, the machine gunners were still trying their best to shoot at the vehicle.

Several machine gun positions of the 382nd Brigade were working hard to create opportunities for the several soldiers who rushed up.

Ordinary soldiers also used the rifles in their hands to shoot at the Japanese soldiers following behind the tank, trying to create opportunities for the warriors who rushed out to blow up the tanks.

The Japanese tanks and artillery fired at the position, and the machine guns on the tanks also kept suppressing the defending army's position.

All the officers and soldiers of the 382nd Brigade, braving the Japanese bombing, insisted on covering Zhang Yaowen, who was rushing towards the armored vehicle.

Although the machine guns could not cause any damage to this armored vehicle, they could suppress the Japanese soldiers charging behind the armored vehicle, reducing some of the pressure on those who rushed to bomb the tank.

The machine guns on the Japanese tanks also changed from firing at the position at the beginning to strafing at the several soldiers of the 382nd Brigade who were charging over.

The six soldiers who rushed up fell one after another fifty meters away from the Japanese armored vehicle.

Zhang Yaowen felt a softness under his feet, and his whole body fell to the ground all of a sudden.

He held the explosive pack tightly in his arms and did not let go even when he fell to the ground.

Lying on the ground, he listened to the sound of bullets whizzing past his ears and felt two more bullets hit his body.

Now he really didn't have any strength left and could only helplessly watch the armored vehicle not far away slowly drive towards the position.

Watanabe Saburo was the machine gunner on Ito Yuta's tank.

He had been working hard to fire at the front of the position. When he found that a squad sent by the defenders was rushing towards his tank, he immediately fired at these people.

Continuous strafing quickly knocked all six of them down on the charging road.

For insurance, Watanabe Saburo continued to fire several more bursts at the defenders who had already fallen to the ground before continuing to focus his attention on the position.

Ito Yuta's vision was very narrow, and he was only moving forward according to his established path.

Watching the Japanese armored vehicle go around and unexpectedly drive towards his direction, Zhang Yaowen's eyes lit up.

The fire in his heart was still burning, and the blood in his blood vessels was still hot.

He was waiting, waiting for the opportunity for the Japanese tank to get close.

Zhang Yaowen was accumulating strength, and he could feel his body getting softer and softer, but no matter what, he had to pull the igniter in his hand.

No matter what, he had to do it!

Zhang Yaowen's eyes were suddenly blocked by the Japanese armored vehicle, and then the sky above his head was completely covered by the armored vehicle.

His ears were filled with the rumbling sound of the machine.

All of this gave him the greatest strength. Zhang Yaowen used his last strength and finally pulled the igniter, listening to the hissing sound of combustion.

Zhang Yaowen smiled and turned his body to the side, so that the explosive pack pressed under his body faced the dark bottom of the armored vehicle.

With a loud bang!

Tan Wenlie and the officers and soldiers of the 382nd Brigade guarding this position saw the armored vehicle rushing in the front suddenly shake and fall down at an angle.

Then the whole vehicle suddenly burst into flames.

Watanabe Saburo only felt his body shake violently, and he was thrown out as the vehicle tilted.

What made him wish he could die was that one of his legs was actually pressed by the tilting tank.

Then he watched helplessly as the entire vehicle burned, burning onto himself.

Watanabe Saburo shouted loudly for help.

The soldiers following behind this tank looked at the fiercely burning tank.

Just as they rushed forward two steps, they were immediately forced back by the flames.

So these soldiers could only watch Watanabe Saburo struggle and howl in the fire.

Ito Yuta and the two gunners still inside the tank were no better off than Watanabe.

Watanabe Saburo was burned alive, while Ito Taro and the others were trapped in the tank, slowly roasted like sweet potatoes.

The smell of roasted human flesh floated on the battlefield.

The tank rushing in the front blocked the road ahead. In the distance, a tank tried to change its course, wanting to cross a rice field and attack from the side.

Just as the tank rushed into the rice field and advanced less than five meters, the entire tank was trapped in the mud and could no longer move.

Even for this armored vehicle trapped in the mud, the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division could not do anything about it now.

The Japanese offensive stopped just like that.

However, their artillery bombardment came again.

At a distance of 300 meters in front of the defending army's position, two armored vehicles were busy as if no one else was around, preparing to drag the tank that had fallen into the mud pit out.

The officers and soldiers of the 382nd Brigade watched the three Japanese tanks emitting black smoke from their rear ends, struggling. The tank in the mud pit was slowly approaching the side and was about to be dragged out.

At this moment, a shell smashed into the tank that was working hard to reverse.

Then another shell smashed into the top of another tank.

The fragments from the shell explosion caused heavy casualties among the soldiers who had been busy trying to salvage the tank trapped in the mud pit.

The third shell accurately hit the tank still in the mud pit. Now, four of the nine tanks that the Japanese had attacked with had been blown up.

This scene made the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division, who were also being bombarded by artillery fire, feel relieved all of a sudden.

Lin Fan fired three shots and left!

Today's Japanese bombing was even more fierce than yesterday, and there were also more Japanese planes in the sky.

Several times, Lin Fan tried to use a mortar to hit the Japanese planes again, but the Japanese planes were simply beyond the range of the mortar and could not be hit at all.

Today's Japanese offensive was even more frantic.

They no longer focused on attacking one section of the 128th Division's defensive line, but attacked the entire defensive line of the 128th Division at the same time.

In the fierce offensive and defensive battle, Shen Quan, the commander of the 764th Regiment, and Zhang Jian, the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion, were wounded. Mi Dachang, the major regimental adjutant of the 763rd Regiment, was killed in battle.

Dozens of squad, platoon, and company commanders of each regiment were killed or wounded.

By 3 p.m., the Japanese army's offensive was even more violent.

Lin Fan and his special forces company had been fighting on the front line, and now there was fierce fighting everywhere on the battlefield.

Artillery support was needed everywhere, but now the entire 128th Division only had 30 shells in total.

Lin Fan, holding these 30 shells, really dared not use them just like that.

These shells had to be used when they were needed most.

The Japanese army once again concentrated its forces and focused its attack on the 382nd Brigade on the right flank of the 128th Division's position.

The five tanks that had retreated in the morning were dispatched again.

Brigade Commander Tan Wenlie and his officers and soldiers had already made up their minds to die on the battlefield and sacrifice themselves for the country, and organized their firepower to resist with all their strength.

The Japanese army had several times more troops and firepower than the 382nd Brigade, and part of the right flank had already been occupied by the Japanese army.

Now they were sending tanks into battle again, obviously wanting to take advantage of the 382nd Brigade's current unfavorable situation and try to take down the right flank of the 128th Division's defensive position in one fell swoop.

The situation was very critical. Division Commander Gu Jiaqi saw that the situation was extremely unfavorable for the 128th Division.

On the one hand, he ordered the 1st Battalion of the 767th Regiment to reinforce the right flank. On the other hand, he personally led the division headquarters' guard company, engineer company, and officer team to participate in the battle. The 767th Regiment had been guarding the No. 67 railway bridge, which was the only way out for the 128th Division to retreat.

Now Gu Jiaqi had to withdraw a battalion from the 767th Regiment to support the 382nd Brigade.

They fought on the right side of the 382nd Brigade.

Lin Fan, on another position, had already discovered that the 382nd Brigade's position was crumbling.

At the same time, he also discovered that the five Japanese tanks were flaunting their power and heading towards the 382nd Brigade's position.

The 382nd Brigade, which was already in an unfavorable situation, would not be able to hold this position if these five tanks rushed up again.

Lin Fan had to take out the shells and fire five shells at the five tanks, and then fired ten shells at the densely packed charging troops.

The accurate strikes immediately interrupted the Japanese army's attack momentum.

They had to stop temporarily to reorganize their troops.

This gave the 382nd Brigade a chance to catch their breath.

They took this opportunity to repair the damaged fortifications and sent the wounded to the rear. At this moment, the commendation order and a bonus of 40,000 yuan from the supreme command were announced.

When the officers and soldiers of the entire 128th Division heard this news, their morale was greatly boosted.

Division Commander Gu personally went to the front line, braving the rain of bullets and shells to direct the battle, which also inspired the officers and soldiers on the front line to fight desperately against the enemy.

Division Commander Gu saw that a large number of the loyal, brave, and simple soldiers he had brought from his hometown were being killed or wounded.

He was very excited and shouted loudly to the soldiers, "The Japanese are invading us. This is the shame of the country, and it is also the shame of us soldiers. We must defeat the Japanese army and win glory for the Chinese nation! Avenge the brothers who have sacrificed! Brothers, follow me! Charge!"

He shouted and charged, taking the lead in the attack.

Under the encouragement of Division Commander Gu Jiaqi's spirit of courage and fearlessness, all the officers and soldiers rushed to kill the enemy, and finally repelled the fierce Japanese army once again.

Today's frenzied Japanese offensive finally had a breakthrough.

The position of the friendly forces on the right flank of the 128th Division was the first to be breached by the Japanese army.

Immediately afterwards, the position of the friendly forces on the left flank was also breached by the Japanese army.

With the addition of tanks to the battlefield, the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army had increased by more than double.

The national army's defense line immediately began to collapse.

The left and right flanks had already retreated, and the 128th Division was alone and unable to support itself.

The 128th Division received the latest order: "The entire division will withdraw into Jiaxing City to make the final defense."

When Gu Jiaqi entered the city, the county magistrate, accompanied by three subordinates, handed him a large bunch of keys. "All the keys to the national defense projects in Jiaxing City are here. The people in charge of guarding them have already run away. Take them and open the doors yourselves!"

After handing over the keys, the county magistrate and his entourage immediately left in a hurry.

When the war reached this point, everyone knew what the next scene would be like.

The common people in Jiaxing City were either hiding or fleeing.

There were too many things for the county magistrate to do, and he was just an ordinary person.

Gu Jiaqi looked at such a large bunch of keys. How could he open the iron doors of those fortresses in the city one by one?

That was a problem!

When Lin Fan led the special forces company into the city, he saw that the streets, which were still crowded when he entered the city yesterday, were suddenly empty.

It was as if the scene had changed overnight!

He had even attended a banquet in this city last night, but now the entire city, as far as the eye could see, was full of soldiers.

Not a single ordinary person!

As a special forces company that was not part of the 128th Division's organization, Division Commander Gu Jiaqi respected them very much.

He gave Lin Fan a choice: either retreat to the rear like the other brother units, or defend Jiaxing together with the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division.

Lin Fan did not see any hint of suggestion in Division Commander Gu's eyes.

The 128th Division, starting from Fengjingbin, had been persistently hindering the Japanese army's advance every day.

From Fengbin to Jiashan, and from Jiashan to Jiaxing, the 11-kilometer road took the Japanese army five days and five nights.

This 11-kilometer road was covered with the corpses of Japanese soldiers and also left behind the heroic souls of more than 2,000 officers and soldiers of the 128th Division.

Now that all the friendly forces had retreated, the task of defending Jiaxing, whether there was one more company or one less company, would not have any impact on the battlefield.

The most important thing was that the 128th Division did not have any mortar shells in their hands.

The five days had given the rear enough time to retreat various equipment, and the original stockpiles of materials had also been transported away by rail.

Lin Fan and his team, without the support of artillery shells, could no longer change the situation by staying.

Gu Jiaqi knew this, and Lin Fan knew this as well, but Lin Fan still decided to stay.

Abandoning comrades was not the style of the special forces company, and it was not the way the organization did things.

Hearing Lin Fan's decision, only a glimmer of light flashed in Division Commander Gu Jiaqi's eyes.

Then he handed Lin Fan five keys. "These may be the keys to the five fortresses inside the South Gate. I don't know for sure. Special Forces Company will go to the South Gate to support our division. Also, how many shells do you still have?"

"Fifteen!" Lin Fan didn't beat around the bush.

He took his team and went to the South Gate with the keys.

The officers and soldiers of the 128th Division, holding the keys that had just been distributed, found that the iron doors of two fortresses were actually opened, but the rest could not be opened at all.

Gu Jiaqi had to order, "Use grenades to blow open the iron doors and immediately enter the national defense fortifications. Prepare to welcome the Japanese attack on the city."

Lin Fan also encountered such a problem, but after seeing these five fortresses, he did not enter them.

These fortresses were not built scientifically enough. If a large number of Japanese troops entered the city, these fortresses would actually be isolated islands.

If tunnels were dug under these fortresses, then they would be real defensive weapons, but these fortresses did not have tunnels.

Some of the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division immediately prepared on the Jiaxing city wall, preparing to welcome the Japanese army's next attack.

The sky darkened, and the difficult day finally passed.

On the morning of the 15th, Ushijima Sadaharu finally arrived at Jiaxing City after spending seven days.

Originally, he thought that he would only need two days to occupy this place.

He never expected that this short 11 kilometers would cost him seven days and the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Seeing the Jiaxing city gate, Division Commander Ushijima Sadaharu ordered, "Attack the city directly! Use heavy artillery."

He meant to use heavy artillery to directly bombard the Jiaxing city wall.

The division commander's order was immediately carried out.

The Japanese army's 105mm howitzers were dragged to a distance of 2,000 meters in front of the Jiaxing city wall.

At the beginning of the siege, three cannons fired directly at the city wall.

The 128th Division, which was originally preparing to defend the city wall properly, realized at this time that the seemingly solid ancient city wall had no resistance at all in the face of modern weapons.

The entire defense line was not as good as the trenches in the field under the Japanese army's heavy artillery bombardment.

The Jiaxing city wall was quickly blasted with many gaps under the Japanese army's heavy artillery bombardment.

The 128th Division had to retreat from the incomplete city wall and retreat into the national defense fortifications that had been built in the city to defend.

The battle on the 15th had just begun, and it was very unfavorable for the 128th Division.

Less than half an hour after the start of the battle, the Japanese army had already broken through the city wall and entered the city.

From now on, the 128th Division entered a full-scale street battle.

Today, the Japanese army's two divisions and one brigade were all participating in the attack on Jiaxing City.

Because the friendly forces who had been blocking the Japanese army together in the previous days had all been ordered to retreat, only the 128th Division was left to guard this city alone.

Shu Anqing, the commander of the 763rd Regiment, personally led a platoon of soldiers to guard a fortress that came in from the West Gate.

This was a national defense fortification that had been built long ago. The fortress was built 50 meters from the entrance of the city gate.

The entire fortress was set up with seven firing holes in four directions, which could completely block the enemies rushing in from the West Gate.