Chapter 1 The Morning of November 12, 1937

Major Yuzhen Fujiwara was sincerely seeking advice from the man before him.

Even though, just an hour ago, he'd scorned this pig-brained staff officer.

"Find the locals! The locals will tell you everything you want to know," Kentaro Fukamizu said smugly.

As he said this, Major Yuzhen Fujiwara suddenly remembered Assistant Hou, who had died by his gun last night; he had heard that he was a local petty official.

If he were still alive, it would be easy to find out such information.

But it didn't matter. It was hard to find a three-legged toad, but it was very easy to find Han traitors who were willing to lead the Empire.

As long as they had the backing of the mighty Empire, those Han traitors would always find enough reasons to convince themselves.

Major Yuzhen Fujiwara watched as the Empire's artillery shells struck the defending troops' fortress with deadly accuracy.

One shot collapsed the top!

His heart filled with pride!

Captain Daiki Kojima ordered the 3rd Company under his command to charge immediately. He wanted to use that place as a breakthrough point.

Led by Captain Takuma Otani, the 3rd Company quickly charged toward that position.

On the battlefield ahead, it wasn't just that one fortress that had collapsed.

Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi, leading his 1st Company, also under the command of Captain Daiki Kojima, sent a squad to charge toward another collapsed fortress.

As long as they could occupy those collapsed fortresses, they could break through the Nationalist army's national defense line, which had cost a fortune and taken three years to build.

This line could also be considered Nanjing's lifeline.

Gu Jiaqi only had Lin Fan and his special forces company as a reserve team today.

He hadn't arranged for them to be on the front line.

Unexpectedly, today's battle would turn out like this, and he had to let Lin Fan and his men support the two fortresses fifty meters apart in advance.

The tops of both of these fortresses had collapsed.

Some of the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division were working hard to excavate fortifications.

Some were desperately digging up the two collapsed fortresses, trying to rescue their comrades buried inside.

Before Lin Fan and the special forces company could rush to the defense line, they had already seen the Japanese soldiers about to engage in close combat with the soldiers of the 128th.

At this time, Lin Fan's favorite mortar bombardment was useless.

The entire special forces company immediately charged forward.

In terms of firepower, they couldn't compare with the Japanese army's long-range artillery.

But when it came to bayonet fighting! None of these soldiers in the special forces company would admit defeat.

Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi watched as his squad of fifty-four soldiers had just rushed onto the position.

They were met by more than thirty Nationalist soldiers rushing up.

This was normal, this team on the opposite side liked close combat.

At this time, the artillery fire from the rear also stopped.

The planes in the sky no longer dropped bombs.

Fifty-four Japanese soldiers against more than thirty Nationalist soldiers, this was a great advantage.

Before the two sides made contact, Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi discovered that a team of people had rushed out from behind these thirty-odd Nationalist soldiers.

At a rough glance, there were at least a hundred people.

Without thinking, Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi immediately led his entire company to press forward.

Captain Daiki Kojima, who was still far away, saw this scene through his binoculars, and a look of appreciation appeared in his eyes:

Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi still had a good eye!

As soon as the soldiers on both sides at the front made contact, blood splattered immediately.

This kind of fighting couldn't be taken lightly, and it tested the soldiers' courage, physical strength, and skills the most.

All three were indispensable! When Lin Fan led the special forces company into the battlefield, almost half of the soldiers who had rushed into the Japanese squad in front of them had already fallen.

Lin Fan shouted, "Kill!"

The bayonet in his hand thrust forward, and the force was so great that the rifle that the Japanese soldier on the opposite side used to parry had no effect at all.

Ji Wudi, who was behind him, silently fired a shot.

The Japanese soldier, who wanted to take advantage of Lin Fan's assault and launch a cold attack, cried out in pain.

He immediately dropped the rifle in his hand, and held the barrel of Ji Wudi's rifle tightly with both hands.

Trying hard not to let her pull it out.

Ji Wudi exerted force on her hand, twisted the entire gun to the left, and twisted it to the right.

All of a sudden, the heart of this Japanese soldier was broken.

The hand that had just gripped the barrel of the gun tightly drooped down weakly.

Lin Fan didn't turn his head, and encouraged loudly, "Good kill!"

Continue to rush forward!

These soldiers of the special forces company said to the wounded soldiers of the 128th Division: "Brothers! Retreat! We're here!"

The wounded soldiers didn't speak, and continued to rush forward.

The special forces company's fight with Captain Shunsuke Matsuishi's company soon came to an end.

In less than ten minutes, they had broken through this Japanese company.

Lin Fan said to the soldiers guarding this place, "Clean up the battlefield!

We still have to go to the side."

Looking at the direction in which the special forces company was advancing, the two teams there were already entangled together, and the fighting between the two sides was intense.

This was the direction of attack of the 3rd Company of Captain Daiki Kojima's battalion.

Captain Takuma Otani, leading the superior forces, had already gained the upper hand after a series of battles.

It looked like they would be able to occupy this position in a few more minutes.

Suddenly, a team rushed out from the right again.

The number of people in this team was now much larger than that of Captain Takuma Otani's company.

Captain Takuma Otani's company originally had one hundred and eighty-four people, but more than thirty had died in the close combat with the 128th Division.

With this ebb and flow, the number of his team had decreased a lot.

However, Captain Takuma Otani was not flustered in his heart.

The entire 18th Division was also learning and improving through these days of fighting.

Now, the soldiers were wearing straw sandals tied under their leather shoes, so they would no longer slip and fall like before.

This also allowed the Japanese soldiers to increase their combat effectiveness when fighting with bayonets.

Captain Takuma Otani silently calculated in his heart, one hundred and fifty against two hundred.

A sure win!

The entire Takuma Otani Company divided most of the soldiers to meet the special forces company.

As soon as the two sides made contact, there was immediately a bloody storm.

The soldiers of the special forces company, habitually shouting and killing, gave the soldiers who were still struggling to fight a lot of courage.

They mustered their remaining courage again and rushed towards the Japanese soldiers.

Those soldiers who were digging trenches and fortifications were still working hard at this time.

They had to dig out a temporary fortification in the time that their comrades had exchanged with their lives.

Only in this way could they cope with the Japanese army's next attack.

This was just the beginning of the day, and there was still a long time to hold on to.

At this time, Gu Jiaqi also ordered the soldiers to urgently dig new fortifications behind this national defense line.

He never expected that the national defense fortifications that he had placed high hopes on would be such tofu-dreg projects.

The shooting holes were as big as windows, and they could be filled with small sandbags to make do with.

The entire fortress was tofu-dregs, and now they could only fill it with human lives.

Captain Daiki Kojima watched as that team wiped out his first company in the time it took them to charge.

Now they were fighting with his third company.

Although the two sides were entangled, he always had a feeling of unease in his heart.

In the end, he decided to press on with the reserve team in his hand.

This was a team of nearly two hundred people consisting of his battalion's transport team and the personnel of the battalion headquarters.

Now this team was the last force that Captain Daiki Kojima's battalion could mobilize.

Captain Oizumi Sora, leading a team of two hundred and thirty people, rushed towards the fiercely fighting battlefield.

He really didn't want to go: he was just a horse feeder.

And still feeding packhorses!

He should only feed the battalion's horses and transport supplies to these combat troops.

But now he was going to let himself, the packhorse leader, lead the team to fight with bayonets.

No matter how unwilling Captain Oizumi Sora was in his heart.

His footsteps did not hesitate at all. At this time, if he didn't charge at the front.

There would definitely be no good things when he came back.

At this time, stretching out his head was a knife, and shrinking his head was also a knife!

It was better to stretch out his head generously!

Lin Fan saw the large group of Japanese soldiers rushing towards this direction from a distance.

Gu Jiaqi, who had been watching the situation on the front line, also discovered that the Japanese army was reinforcing this place.

He pointed to that position: "Order: Let the 7** Regiment charge with a battalion."

Shen Quan, the commander of the 7** Regiment, immediately sent the 3rd Battalion to support them.

The two groups of supporting troops, plus the troops that were still charging and fighting, made this small battlefield the focus of the entire offensive line today in an instant.

Thousands of officers and soldiers from both sides were gathered here to fight.

The more intense the battle, the faster it would end.

By the time Captain Oizumi Sora realized that the situation was not good and had to lead the remaining dozens of soldiers back in a panic.

The special forces company and the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division also quickly left this position.

As soon as they left here, this area immediately became the focus of the Japanese army's artillery bombardment.

The first-line fortifications that the 128th Division had just painstakingly built were immediately surrounded by thick smoke.

Lin Fan and his team had already retreated.

The team of the 128th Division on the front line also retreated.

This was a tactic that Gu Jiaqi had specially formulated for the characteristics of his team.

His team had poor weapons and rarely engaged in long-range shooting with the Japanese army. Often, they would turn into close combat while fighting.

Therefore, instead of guarding the position and waiting for the Japanese army's artillery shells to bombard them, it was better to let the soldiers retreat.

After the bombardment ended, the team would rush up again. At this time, the Japanese army would also rush up to the position, and the two sides would have another close combat in front of the position.

Lin Fan had originally pulled the mortar shells to the battlefield.

Seeing this scene, these shells would not be used today!

As soon as the Japanese army's shells stopped, the planes in the air roared in and kept dropping bombs on the position.

The soldiers of the special forces company looked at the planes and then at Lin Fan.

The expectations in their eyes could not be concealed! Lin Fan said with a wry smile: "Don't look at me! Our mortars can't reach that high.

If Commander Xu let go and let us drag out a cannon, these planes wouldn't dare to fly in the sky."

The soldiers of the special forces company all laughed.

A clever woman can't cook without rice!

The soldiers of the special forces company could still laugh in the sound of the Japanese army's artillery bombardment.

This was good!

The soldiers of the 128th Division had just seen the combat effectiveness of this team.

Seeing that they were not far behind them, they felt even more at ease.

The artillery of the Japanese 18th Division bombarded them, and the planes that were called in repeatedly bombarded the position.

Now was the time for their soldiers to continue charging.

Captain Daiki Kojima's battalion had no combat effectiveness and was withdrawn to rest, waiting to receive reinforcements.

Captain Oizumi Sora finally breathed a sigh of relief: he had finally left the battlefield alive.

Although he would return to the battlefield next time, it was good to be able to live one more day.

When Lieutenant General Sadamu Ushijima landed, he never thought that the attack on this land would be so difficult.

It had been a full four days, and in four days, the entire division had only advanced seven kilometers.

This was still with the help of the 114th Division and the Sato Detachment, such a slow pace of advance.

Ushijima Sadamu himself felt ashamed.

What made him even more ashamed was that the entire division had now been reduced by more than half, if the rear showed signs of reinforcements, the entire division would probably be wiped out.

After four consecutive days of fighting, the casualties on the opposite side would not be small, but they were still persisting.

What were these troops fighting with?

Lieutenant General Sadamu Ushijima did not understand.

Lin Fan understood: Belief!

Although these soldiers did not read much, the belief in resisting the invaders was deeply engraved in their bones.

This time, when he saw the Japanese army's team charging up again, Lin Fan led the team to retreat.

The special forces company retreated one thousand meters, and seven mortars were lined up in a row.

This time, Lin Fan only operated one cannon, and the other six were operated by six people from the direct subordinate team.

After carefully adjusting the angle and direction of the shell launch.

With an order, seven shells roared past the backs of the soldiers of the 128th Division.

They flew into the ranks of the charging Japanese army.

As soon as the first round of seven shells exploded, the second round of shells had already flown over.

The third and fourth rounds of mortar shells were continuous.

This batch of shells not only disrupted the charging Japanese formation.

It also interrupted their charge.

The effective kill radius of a shell explosion was more than thirty meters.

These shells exploded continuously in the middle of the Japanese army's ranks.

The charging Japanese company encountered a catastrophe.

The terrain in Jiangnan did not have so many obstacles for them to hide.

These Japanese soldiers could only hide in the crater or just lie on the ground to avoid the bombardment of these shells falling from the sky.

The shells fired from their backs not only stopped the Japanese army's footsteps.

It also stunned the officers and soldiers of the 128th Division who were ready to go.

Their division headquarters had also fired cannons before.

They had bombarded the Japanese army.

But when could these shells explode accurately in the middle of the Japanese army's ranks like today?

Not a single shell missed.

It was as if the shells had been turned into landmines.

Originally, it was going to be another fierce close combat between the two sides.

But Lin Fan and his men stopped it with seven cannons.

The Japanese army's batch of attacking troops could not stand being passively bombed like this.

One team after another of Japanese soldiers had to retreat in this way.

The Japanese army retreated! Lin Fan quickly led the special forces company to leave this area.

They had only fired cannons here for less than five minutes.

Fire a cannon and change a place!

This was the sorrow of a small cannon! Lin Fan thought so in his heart.

His small team had just left that artillery position for less than five minutes.

The Japanese army's shells fell around that position.

This was revenge!

Naked revenge!

Lin Fan just thought so in his heart.

If he had a howitzer, just one, he could have counter-bombed the Japanese army's artillery position at this time.

Unfortunately, he could only think about such a good thing.

Watching from a distance as the position behind him where he had just fired the shells was being bombarded by the Japanese army's shells.

The soldiers of the 128th Division also understood at this time: why those brothers would retreat so far just now.

They were not afraid of the Japanese army! They were just afraid that because of the bombardment, they would hurt themselves when the Japanese army counterattacked.

Gu Jiaqi saw the performance of Lin Fan's team from a distance: it turned out that what Commander Xu Kang of the Jiangyin Fortress had told him was not all of it.

This was not just a sharpshooter!

It was clear that all of them were sharpshooters!

He immediately sent his communications soldier to give Lin Fan an order: "Move three thousand meters to the left and support the front line with a round of artillery fire.

Don't save the shells, I will replenish you as much as you fire."

This kind of artillery that could shoot every shell into the middle of the Japanese army's ranks, why would they need to save shells?

The special forces company, upon receiving the order, quickly moved.

Three thousand meters to the left.

This distance was not long, and the soldiers of the special forces company sprinted quickly.

At this time, sending someone to order them to use their company to provide artillery support.

The front line must be very tight.

When Lin Fan led the team to the position, he realized that there were several national defense fortresses in front of them.

A little further past was the railway track.

Machine guns were constantly firing from inside these fortresses.

In front of the fortresses were the Japanese army's attacking troops.

From time to time, artillery fired shells that exploded on these fortresses, and the explosions caused loud noises and flashes of light.

The fortresses here were obviously very strong.

The Japanese army had already leveled their mountain cannons and fired them directly, but they still could not take down the fortresses.

These were the fortresses that were worthy of the name.

Lin Fan thought so in his heart, but his hands did not slow down at all, he picked up a shell, adjusted it slightly, and immediately began to fire.

"You guys set up the cannons and aim at the Japanese soldiers attacking in front!"

Lin Fan was now targeting the Japanese army's artillery in the front.

He could see with the naked eye that the Japanese army had dragged two 70mm Type 92 infantry guns in the direction of the attack.

They were using them to fire at the fortresses in front of them.

This kind of infantry gun was manufactured in Japan, with a caliber of 70mm, a barrel length of 790mm, and a main shield thickness of up to 4mm, and a secondary shield thickness of 3mm.

It was 2,203mm in total length, 46kg in total weight, and 200kg in combat weight.

The shells used weighed less than eight pounds, so their power was much worse than the cannons that Lin Fan and his men had destroyed the night before.

But this kind of cannon was light and suitable for mountainous areas and muddy roads.

And its maximum range reached 13,000 meters when using grenades, and 20,000 meters when attacking tanks.

This kind of cannon was the standard equipment of the Japanese army and was distributed to every unit.

Now Lin Fan's goal was to destroy these two cannons.

He even had the idea of ​​snatching these two cannons.