Chapter 1 The Xuzhou Special Task Force Stationed in Tashan Town

The Xuzhou Special Task Force stationed in Tashan Town received a batch of grain and weapons sent from Xuzhou yesterday.

The Japanese devils could now be said to have sufficient food and ammunition. With food in hand, they were not flustered. Moreover, they now knew that the Lunan Detachment surrounding them only numbered a mere twenty thousand.

From Commander Yamabo Jiro down to the ordinary Japanese soldiers, everyone felt that victory was in sight.

Among the three brigade commanders, the most depressed was Suzuki Goro. His Independent Infantry Third Brigade was originally the most elite force among the three brigades.

Now it had been completely replaced with a new batch of men, becoming the cannon fodder among the three brigades. The previous artillery bombardment caused varying degrees of casualties to each team, which was fair.

He had no objections to that, but the annihilation of the Rikuzen Kazuo Battalion and the Ishiki Ryosuke Tank Company that the Third Brigade had just sent out left him no one to complain to.

An infantry brigade that had just been reorganized from a supply unit had lost an entire battalion in one go, and without a single survivor.

This was a considerable blow to the morale of the entire brigade. Now his brigade was defending the position on the southern side of Tashan.

The Japanese soldiers on the entire position looked dejected. They were even unwilling to dig trenches or drag door panels and wood from the town to reinforce their fortifications.

The trenches they dug were less than two feet deep, all of which showed the deep despair these Japanese soldiers felt about the battle.

These Japanese soldiers of the entire Independent Infantry Third Brigade simply did not believe that there was any hope of survival.

If it weren't for the existence of the disciplinary squad in the entire team, these Japanese soldiers would have already scattered.

Lin Fan had suspended the bombing of the Japanese troops, and Gu Xiuming led six regiments on the march again.

Especially the First, Second, Seventh, and Eighth Regiments, which had been fighting all night yesterday. They were either in battle or on their way to battle.

Now they had to advance another twenty *li* towards Xuzhou to set up a new battlefield.

Not only did these soldiers not look tired, but they were all unusually excited.

They were very happy now. From Xuzhou Airport to Tashan Town, and now to ambushing the Japanese troops.

This fully demonstrated their strong combat effectiveness; otherwise, the brigade commander would not have been thinking of them in everything.

Now the soldiers of the First and Second Regiments had long forgotten the helplessness of the first half of the month when they watched the Japanese troops pass by right under their noses, unable to take action.

The night raid the day before yesterday killed more than eight thousand Japanese soldiers, the attack on the airport last night killed more than two thousand, and just now they killed more than a thousand.

In just a few days, they had killed tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers. The soldiers of the four regiments were counting the numbers in their minds, and their steps were even more vigorous.

According to the regiment commander's request: they were now racing against the Japanese troops, who were coming out of Xuzhou City towards this direction.

The six regiments of the Lunan Detachment were going towards Xuzhou, and they would eventually meet in one place.

If the six regiments of the Lunan Detachment could arrive at the destination in advance and make arrangements in advance, they could take the initiative and gain a lot of advantages when fighting the Japanese troops.

Conversely, if the two sides met directly on the road, they would only be able to fight head-on. Gu Xiuming and Hua Deze were not afraid of fighting hard battles.

However, if they could clearly win a battle with fewer casualties easily, there was nothing to brag about even if they won such a battle by force.

As expected of a team that trains running every day, the Japanese troops were still far away when Gu Xiuming led the six regiments to the planned battlefield.

After all, there were a full sixty *li* between Tashan and Xuzhou. Gu Xiuming and his six regiments only had to travel twenty *li*, while the Japanese troops had to travel forty *li*.

Gu Xiuming arranged for the First Regiment to ambush the Japanese troops in the middle, and the Second Regiment was arranged to cut in behind the Japanese troops. They would only rush out to cut off the Japanese troops' retreat back to Xuzhou after his ambush started.

The Seventh and Eighth Regiments blocked the front to prevent the Japanese troops from rushing towards Tashan Town.

The other two security regiments followed the First Regiment to ambush the Japanese troops.

The plan was issued very quickly, and the soldiers of the Second Regiment, led by Regiment Commander Hua, quickly continued to advance.

They were going to the location where they had ambushed the Japanese troops the night before last, lurking away from the main road, and quietly following behind after all the Japanese troops had passed.

They would wait for the First Regiment to launch an attack before cutting off the Japanese troops' retreat.

At 9:30 in the morning, Manda Yuto led his team out of Xuzhou City.

At noon, they rested by the roadside for half an hour, and the Japanese troops of the entire brigade ate dry food in a hurry.

After two hours of marching, the Independent Infantry Seventeenth Brigade had traveled twenty *li*.

At this time, Brigade Commander Manda Yuto also reported his position to Commander Yamabo.

At this rate, his team could reach the edge of Tashan at around 5:00 in the afternoon, and he could take the opportunity to launch an attack on the Lunan Detachment surrounding Tashan before it got dark.

At the same time, the Xuzhou Special Task Force inside Tashan Town could launch a counterattack from the inside. By then, they could defeat the Lunan Detachment and even pursue them overnight.

When Brigade Commander Manda Yuto was sending the telegram, twenty *li* ahead of his team, six infantry regiments of the Lunan Detachment were nervously arranging their positions according to the plan.

The reconnaissance platoon leader who had been following the Japanese troops constantly reported the marching speed and state of the Japanese troops.

Although Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's march this time was hurried and rushed, his team's defenses were very strict.

A full battalion was scouting the way ahead of the entire brigade, and the army only passed after the roads on the left and right sides had been searched for five hundred meters.

When these situations were reported to Gu Xiuming, the fact that the Japanese troops were advancing so cautiously meant that the Lunan Detachment's best weapon, the directional mine, could not be arranged during the ambush.

Since the Japanese troops had searched both sides of the road to five hundred meters away, Regiment Commander Gu could only ambush his team eight hundred meters away.

In this case, the encirclement would be very large, and the suddenness of this ambush would basically be lost.

It would be completely a head-to-head battle. Gu Xiuming was not flustered. There were six regiments here, but only four regular regiments had rocket artillery companies.

The four rocket artillery companies were still used in a concentrated manner. This time, there was a little more time, and no Japanese troops had appeared at the ambush location yet.

The four rocket artillery companies immediately began test firing, and at the same time divided the ambush area into sections, assigned code names, and tested the firing parameters for each section.

In this way, when the Japanese troops entered the ambush area, the rocket artillery companies would bomb the designated sections according to orders, and the bombing efficiency would definitely increase several times over.

The Seventh and Eighth Regiments of the Lunan Detachment were digging trenches two *li* away from the ambush location determined by Gu Xiuming.

They were two *li* away from the ambush site, so the Japanese troops would not be able to see them when the battle in front started.

According to Gu Xiuming's guess, when the Japanese troops realized that they had been ambushed, they would most likely continue to rush towards Tashan Town despite the artillery bombardment.

At this time, the Seventh and Eighth Regiments would need to use their trenches and fortifications to block the Japanese troops. When Regiment Commander Song Guoan was at Huangtuling, he had already dug trenches, and he was praised by Gu Xiuming at the time.

Now his regiment was arranging things according to the same standards, and directional mines were placed five hundred meters in front of the position.

At the same time, directional mines were also arranged on both sides of the road. This was where the Japanese troops would break through and rush over after being ambushed.

At this time, they were no longer afraid of being discovered by the Japanese troops, and even if the Japanese troops discovered their defense line, they could only bite the bullet and charge forward.

Gu Xiuming divided the First Regiment into two parts. The First to Fifth Companies, along with the Juxian Security First Regiment, were on the left side of the road, and the Sixth to Tenth Companies, along with the Security Second Regiment, were on the right side of the road.

The four rocket artillery companies were used in a concentrated manner, and the artillery positions had been built. The anti-aircraft machine gun companies of each regiment were still used by their respective regiments according to their organization.

The anti-aircraft machine gun company of the First Regiment was on a small mound eight hundred meters away from the road.

After resting for half an hour, the Japanese troops of the Xuzhou Special Task Force continued on their way, walking into the pocket set up by Gu Xiuming.

After Brigade Commander Manda Yuto led his team forward for half an hour, the Second Regiment led by Hua Deze could see them a thousand meters away.

Gu Xiuming listened to Regiment Commander Hua's report and knew that the Japanese troops were speeding up their march and were only ten *li* away from the ambush location he had set up.

He immediately ordered all companies to speed up their arrangements. The ambush sites for firing the first shot all began to lie in ambush, and no one was allowed to show their heads or put out their weapons.

Lin Fan had issued the same order when he commanded the ambush of the Japanese troops last time. The post-war battle report taught all the regiment commanders.

When ambushing the Japanese troops, they had to pay attention to the weapons, helmets, and various iron objects and brightly colored objects attracting the attention of the Japanese troops, thereby attracting the attention of the Japanese troops, and thus being discovered by the Japanese troops.

Gu Xiuming, who had seen the battle report, of course had to pay attention to these details. They had already silenced their voices and lay in ambush, waiting for the Japanese troops to come in.

Behind them, the Seventh and Eighth Regiments were busy arranging the battlefield.

Directional mines had to be placed, and Regiment Commanders Song Guoan and Zhang Xiuming worked together to build three layers of defensive fortifications.

They did not dare to underestimate the combat effectiveness of the Japanese troops in the slightest, so they decided to set up three lines of defense. Even if the Japanese troops were strong, the Seventh and Eighth Regiments would still have the ability to retreat to the second line of defense after breaking through the first line of defense.

When news came from the front that the Japanese troops were only five *li* away from the ambush circle, Gu Xiuming ordered the Seventh and Eighth Regiments to also lie in ambush and stop working.

Five *li* could be reached in half an hour based on the current marching speed of the Japanese troops. Gu Xiuming ordered the Lunan Detachment Aviation Brigade to take off.

Based on the distance from Fei County to here, it would take forty minutes for the planes to arrive, which was just enough to catch up with the attack on the Japanese troops in the ambush circle.

Gu Xiuming was already able to see the vanguard of the Manda Yuto Brigade.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki looked at the unchanging scenery in front of him. He led the team to open the way in front, from the initial caution and trepidation.

To the current peace of mind and recklessness, everything had been safe along the way.

Not only had Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki let down his guard, but even the Japanese troops in the Ueto Yuta Company who were walking in the front had begun to talk and laugh.

They walked on the road, looking around to observe the surrounding situation. They joked about each other's timid appearance just now.

When the Japanese troops of this company came out of Xuzhou City, they knew that they had become the vanguard of the entire brigade.

Each of them felt that a disaster was imminent, as if they were about to die. They all knew that as the Japanese troops who opened the way in front, as long as the Lunan Detachment ambushed in front, they would be the cannon fodder of the entire brigade.

They were used to test whether the road ahead was safe. At that time, all the Japanese soldiers' faces were not good.

The order had been conveyed, and the Japanese troops of the entire company had to walk to the front to open the way, even though they were extremely unwilling in their hearts.

As the road got longer and longer, the Japanese troops of the Ueto Yuta Company discovered that everything was safe along the way.

After a long period of peace, the nervous mood of these Japanese troops finally relaxed a lot, and they had been opening the way in front.

Along the way, they had not seen a single person on the road. Not to mention passing merchants, the Japanese troops had not even seen a single farmer cultivating in the fields.

This was very surprising to them. The Japanese troops had never thought that for the past half month, they had been constantly sending troops to pass on this road. Where would the surrounding farmers dare to come out to cultivate in broad daylight?

They only dared to harvest grain secretly at night. As for those merchants, it was even more so now. They would rather take small roads than take the main road.

Recently, the Lunan Detachment had been active in a certain area, and the bandits who had been active in this area had long packed up and ran away.

The Lunan Detachment's ferocity and ruthlessness towards bandits had long been spread. These bandits could not beat them in a fight, and it was always possible to sit down and talk when the fists were equal!

In any case, the entire Independent Infantry Seventeenth Brigade had not encountered a single pedestrian or passerby for twenty *li* along the way.

This situation finally allowed them to let down their guard, and they slowly relaxed a little.

Especially after Brigade Commander Manda Yuto ordered a break in the middle for half an hour, they could finally talk and laugh.

Happy days were always short. The Japanese troops of the Nakamura Ichiro Company had been apprehensive along the way.

They had only just relaxed a little, and it was still safe to move forward another ten *li*.

However, Tashan Town would be reached in another twenty *li*. Was the Lunan Detachment surrounding Tashan Town prepared?

The Japanese troops were not sure. In any case, the mood of the Japanese troops of the Ueto Yuta Company began to tense up again.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki also issued an order to the Japanese troops to pay attention to searching. He told the Japanese troops to be careful, to look farther away, and to see if there were any lurking observers.

When he issued the order, Gu Xiuming was watching coldly in the distance. He watched the Japanese troops who had been marching relatively loosely suddenly change their formation.

The vanguard of the Japanese troops had all turned into combat formations, and even their bodies when searching were as low as possible, as if they were ready to fight at any time.

"Could it be that our ambush has been exposed?" Gu Xiuming wondered in his heart.

His doubts were quickly dispelled: although the Japanese troops made a combat appearance, the direction of their search had not changed.

It was still the same as just now, and even the speed of the search had not changed. They were just taking precautions and making preparations for possible attacks in advance.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Xiuming's face: these Japanese troops were still vigilant, but they were careful in small matters, but forgot that this was a battle in another country.

When they came out of Xuzhou City, they had already been completely exposed. Now this kind of small action had no effect on the overall situation at all.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto led the team to follow up. He rode on his warhorse and occasionally raised his binoculars to look around.

Everything far and near came into view, and he could not see any difference between this section of the road and the road he had already traveled.

Everything was safe!

There was a company of Japanese troops guarding the advance five hundred meters on each side of the road.

This made Brigade Commander Manda Yuto feel a lot more at ease. Although his body was undulating with the advance of the warhorse, his mood was as stable as a rock, without any waves.

The distance to Tashan Town to encircle and suppress the Lunan Detachment was not far away. Next, it was time to see the truth.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto planned to continue advancing ten *li*, and the entire brigade would rest and reorganize. After contacting Commander Yamabo Jiro in Tashan Town, they would cooperate in the operation.

Thinking of the scene where he would be able to defeat the Lunan Detachment next, a happy smile appeared on Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's face.

As long as the Lunan Detachment was defeated, his garrison in Xuzhou would be peaceful. Although there were still some Nationalists and local troops fighting guerrillas everywhere, they could no longer affect the overall situation.

If it were not for the Lunan Detachment's recent attack on the airport, which seriously threatened his safety in Xuzhou, he would not have come out of the city this time.

While Brigade Commander Manda Yuto was thinking, the marching speed of the entire brigade did not change, and they had already entered the ambush circle set up by Gu Xiuming step by step.

The range of the ambush circle set up by Gu Xiuming this time was a bit large. The timing of launching an attack on the Japanese troops could be early or late, and it was not as demanding on the timing as when he had ambushed before.

From his position, he was already able to see the foremost Japanese troops walk into the No. 1 bombing zone marked out by the rocket artillery.

Gu Xiuming ordered: "The First Regiment's rocket artillery company will bomb the No. 1 area, and the Second, Seventh, and Eighth Regiments' rocket artillery will bomb the No. 5, 6, and 7 areas."

With an order, the four rocket artillery companies opened fire at the same time, and at the same time, the mortars and infantry guns of each infantry company on both sides of the road also opened fire.

Although the Japanese troops of Nakai Hideki's battalion had made preparations for an attack at any time under the reminder of the battalion commander.

They had no way to defend against the shells that suddenly fell from the sky. They could only lie on the ground and wait for the end of this sudden bombardment.

Forty-eight rockets accurately hit the No. 1 area, and at the same time, dozens of mortar shells from each infantry company also fell in.

This made the Japanese troops of Nakai Hideki's battalion completely unable to bear it. They only had a little over a thousand Japanese soldiers in total.

Being bombed by forty-eight rockets with a caliber of one hundred and twenty millimeters was already an unbearable burden.

Then they were bombarded by countless mortar shells, which completely exceeded the Nakai Hideki Battalion's ability to withstand. Company Commander Ueto Yuta looked at the big pit that suddenly appeared not far away.

The Japanese troops of his company were still dozens of meters away from this pit, but many of them were also knocked down by the flying shrapnel.

The entire Japanese army was now lying on the ground, nervously staring at both sides of the road. Many shells were being fired at them from the extremely far sides of the road.

The Nakamura Ichiro Company had originally been searching in front on the left side of the road. They had not discovered any situation along the way since they came out of Xuzhou City.

Now, at this time, many soldiers suddenly appeared a few hundred meters to the left of their search area. Although they did not charge or attack.

However, mortars and Type 92 infantry guns were constantly firing over, and the shells exploded in the middle of their team.

The bombing suffered by the Nakamura Ichiro Company was completely insignificant compared to the main force of the brigade that followed behind them.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto personally saw the rockets fly over from the east, tearing through space.

He was so frightened that he dropped his binoculars and fell off his warhorse. He took the opportunity to lie on the ground. At this time, he gave the order: "Enemy attack! Lie down!"

After the brigade commander completed this set of actions, the surrounding guards and Japanese troops heard the sharp sound of the shells tearing through the air.

These Japanese troops had already received the order from the brigade commander in advance, and they all lay down. Although their movements were fast, they were the main force.

The Lunan Detachment gave them special care. Three rocket artillery companies bombed them, and mortars and infantry guns were all aimed at them.

There were three regiments ambushing the Japanese troops here. Although the two security regiments did not have rocket artillery, they still had their mortars and infantry guns, but they were not as many as those equipped by the regular regiments.

Even so, the artillerymen of the Juxian Security First Regiment and the Security Second Regiment did not miss the opportunity and were nervously aiming at the Japanese troops to fire.

Leng Zixing was a mortar gunner in the Juxian Security Second Regiment. He had only been in the security regiment for a total of two months.

The total number of training days he had participated in was less than ten days, and he had only fired live ammunition once.

Now he was asked to aim at the Japanese troops and fire, and he was still a little scared in his heart. The Japanese troops in the distance were shrouded in smoke, and shells were exploding from time to time.

This was after the first round of rocket bombardment, and the mortars and infantry guns of each company were freely bombarding.

Leng Zixing nervously adjusted the barrel of the gun, held a shell in his hand, and carefully put the shell into the muzzle of the gun.

He quickly retracted his hands and covered his ears. Even so, he still heard a loud "boom!" The shell he had just thrown in had turned into a stream of light and flew towards the distance.

After hearing the shell fly out, he quickly looked up to see where the shell had landed.

This was just a subconscious action. In fact, at this time when everyone was bombarding, he could not see where the shell he had fired had gone at all.

After only taking a glance at the battlefield, Leng Zixing immediately remembered his responsibility. He quickly picked up the second shell and threw it into the barrel. After firing several shells in a row like this.

Leng Zixing finally adapted to the battlefield. After throwing the shell into the barrel, he no longer covered his ears, but just turned his body slightly to the side and continued to grab the next shell without stopping, ready to go.

His situation was not an isolated case. The artillerymen of the two security regiments were also similar. After firing a few shells, their nervous mood was relieved, and the speed of firing shells gradually increased.

One of the advantages of mortars was that they had a fast firing speed. These soldiers who had only just really participated in combat finally understood in actual combat:

"There is still a very big difference between actual combat and usual training! At least in actual combat, there will no longer be anyone guarding them all the time.

No one will always tell them what to do and how to do it. What they can do now completely depends on what they learned during normal training and what they can still remember now."

The Japanese troops of the Manda Yuto Brigade gradually recovered from the initial chaos of being bombarded. They discovered that the bombing was coming from the left and right directions.

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto even saw the mortars that were still firing in the distance through his binoculars.

Pointing to the left and right directions, Brigade Commander Manda Yuto ordered: "The search companies on the left and right sides, attack!

The main force of the brigade that is still on the road immediately disperses to both sides of the road."

At the same time, he sent a messenger to the front to ask Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki about the situation in front.

Battalion Commander Nakai Hideki's reply came quickly: "No ambush was found in front of the team. Only Lunan Detachment soldiers and artillery positions were found eight hundred meters outside the left and right sides of the road."

After hearing the report, Brigade Commander Manda Yuto was secretly shocked by the long ambush line of the Lunan Detachment.

At the same time, he had already made a decision in his heart. He loudly ordered: "Immediately send a telegram to Commander Yamabo, telling him that we have been ambushed by a large team of the Lunan Detachment twenty *li* away from Tashan. Let him immediately close in on our army!

Order Nakai Hideki's battalion to immediately advance forward. The search teams on the left and right sides of the entire brigade will establish a defense line and hold it to prevent the Lunan Detachment from rushing in.

The main force will quickly charge forward and quickly rush out of this area."

Brigade Commander Manda Yuto did not dawdle. When he issued the order, Gu Xiuming's second round of rocket bombardment had not yet been launched.

The Japanese troops who were still moving like ants on the highway just now swarmed off the highway.

They dispersed to both sides of the road, leaving five hundred meters of space on each side of the road. These Japanese troops dispersed and were no longer as dense as they had been at the beginning.

The observers of the four rocket artillery companies immediately began to guide their respective company commanders to the new bombing areas.

They had test-fired these areas when they had just arrived on the battlefield. The numbers and firing parameters of each area had all been measured.

Now these observers only needed to report the area numbers back, and each company could modify the firing parameters according to the numbers.

Gu Xiuming watched the Japanese troops disperse from the road all at once. This was within his expectations and was not surprising.

What made him frown was that after the Japanese troops dispersed, they did not leave a single heavy weapon on the entire highway.

There were Japanese soldiers lying on the ground who could not get up on the highway, as well as those Japanese soldiers' rifles. These could all be seen.

However, heavy weapons such as heavy machine guns, mortars, and infantry guns in the Japanese team did not leave a single one on the highway.

This showed that the Japanese team that was ambushed today was an elite force. The evidence was that they had not lost any weapons after being ambushed.

A team that could bring all the heavy weapons with them in the midst of a chaotic escape when suddenly bombed was of course an elite force, and this was also very remarkable.

They retained the ability to counterattack at any time. This was not because the Manda Yuto Brigade was more well-trained than the Xuzhou Special Task Force.

But because it was daytime now, although the Japanese troops were not prepared, they could still see the situation on the entire battlefield.

Enemies that could be seen were far less terrible than enemies that could not be seen!

According to Brigade Commander Manda Yuto's view: He believed that the Lunan Detachment had a total of more than 20,000 people, and the team that was ambushing him now probably had tens of thousands of people.

Then the Lunan Detachment in Tashan Town only had tens of thousands of people left. Yamabo Jiro's Xuzhou Special Task Force had as many as 30,000 Japanese troops.

30,000 Japanese troops against 10,000 Lunan Detachment could completely win. For insurance, he was still charging towards Tashan despite the artillery bombardment.

To add a piece of weight to the already tilted balance, they would first work together to eliminate the Lunan Detachment in Tashan Town, and then turn around and annihilate the team that was ambushing him here.

Although his thoughts were not stated in the telegram, Commander Yamabo Jiro and Brigade Commander Saito Taio who received the telegram had completely understood his intention.

In an instant, the Japanese troops of the entire Xuzhou Special Task Force received the order: "The Japanese troops on each defense line will attack at the same time and counterattack outwards. Saito Taio Brigade will send two battalions to assist Suzuki Brigade in rushing towards Xuzhou."

The purpose of Commander Yamabo Jiro's order for a full attack now was to hold back the Lunan Detachment outside and not let them run away.

For insurance, he specially chose the south side of Tashan Town as the breakthrough point, because Manda Brigade would assist in this direction.

In fact, by now, he and Brigade Commander Saito had a feeling: The Lunan Detachment had divided half of its troops to ambush the Manda Brigade. Even without the arrival of the Manda Brigade, they could defeat the team outside.

When thinking of this, Commander Yamabo Jiro was still a little ashamed: He thought that he had been deceived by the Japanese reconnaissance officers outside.

It was clear that the Lunan Detachment had reduced half of its people to ambush another team, but he had not received any news at all.

The intelligence work was completely disconnected!

Now was not the time to pursue responsibility. Commander Yamabo Jiro decided to reorganize the entire team after defeating the Lunan Detachment.

At this time, he had forgotten about the things he had wanted to give up last night. The comparison of strength between the two sides was already three to one, and there was no reason for him not to win.

Last night, Commander Yamabo Jiro felt that there was no hope for the entire detachment to escape and was afraid of dying in Tashan Town, so he had the intention of retreating. Now that he saw victory in sight, the heart that wanted to be promoted and the wild fire in his chest were burning vigorously again.

His order had been issued, and the brigade commanders under his command all attacked according to the order.

Especially Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro of the Independent Infantry Third Brigade, who personally followed the entire brigade to attack towards Xuzhou.

A brigade commander being able to personally follow the assault team to charge was definitely a huge encouragement to the Japanese soldiers.

Commander Yamabo Jiro certainly appreciated this very much.

Commander Yamabo, who was staying in the headquarters, anxiously waited for news of victory from the front.

In order to widen the distance between them and the Lunan Detachment, the Xuzhou Special Task Force's defense line did not extend outwards very much, and the Lunan Detachment did not intentionally compress the Japanese army's area of activity.

This meant that the Japanese troops still needed to advance forward for a while to be able to contact the Lunan Detachment during the counterattack.

Although the two sides had not yet exchanged fire, the Japanese troops of the entire Xuzhou Special Task Force had already seen the dawn of victory.

Because they had not been subjected to heavy artillery bombardment for a long time, did the absence of heavy artillery bombardment mean that the Lunan Detachment's heavy artillery regiment had been transferred to bomb the Manda Brigade?

The Japanese troops became happy as soon as they thought of this: the principle of friends die, not me die was the same.

The Japanese troops who had such thoughts took much lighter steps when attacking outwards, especially the two infantry battalions that had received orders to assist the Independent Infantry Third Brigade.

These two infantry battalions were both from the Infantry Fourth Brigade. This was because Brigade Commander Saito Taio thought that the Infantry Third Brigade's combat effectiveness was too weak, so he specially transferred them to strengthen the attack.

Battalion Commanders Tomyo Kenta and Nanguumo Takuto, who were able to be sent by Brigade Commander Saito Taio to guide another brigade in attacking, were very excited.

Being able to guide another brigade to attack was a kind of glory. Guiding a former elite brigade made this glory even more so.

When they led their team to the south of Tashan, Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro had already arrived at the front line. This time, he was going to personally follow the team to attack.

The two regimental commanders of the Suzuki Brigade, Nikko Takuya and Kitakaze Fubuki, personally welcomed the two battalion commanders of the Infantry Fourth Brigade into the front-line command post.

All the battalion commanders of the entire brigade were here. Being valued so much by the regimental commanders and brigade commander made Battalion Commanders Tomyo Kenta and Nanguumo Takuto feel so elated that they didn't know how much their bodies weighed.

Brigade Commander Suzuki had just finished saying the words to welcome the two of them, and before he could start arranging the next action.

Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta had already taken over the conversation. What he said was very simple: "My battalion will charge in the front, and you can just send two battalions to follow behind to clean up the battlefield.

The entire brigade will continue to follow up, and wait until my battalion breaks through the enemy's defense line.

Nanguumo Takuto Battalion will pursue to the west after breaking through the Lunan Detachment's defense line. My battalion will pursue to the east, and the Third Brigade will directly advance south to meet up with the Manda Brigade."

His plan was very simple, and he didn't even ask what the names of the two battalion commanders he was pointing at were.

Brigade Commander Suzuki, who was interrupted, didn't have any objections. Seeing the faces of his battalion commanders faintly showing anger.

He quickly ordered: "Do it according to Battalion Commander Tomyo's plan! Time is tight, take action immediately.

Nakadesu Kosuke Battalion, Kebo Kaito Battalion, you will follow Battalion Commander Tomyo to act.

Magame Uenosuke Battalion, Saiga Taiichi Battalion, you will follow Battalion Commander Nanguumo to act."

After all, in order to take care of the face of his brigade, Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro skillfully used action to replace cleaning up the battlefield.

"Humph!" Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta snorted coldly: "Fighting is about morale, courage, and combat effectiveness, not some petty cleverness in words."

He obviously heard Brigade Commander Suzuki's euphemistic statement, but Tomyo Kenta directly pointed out this sentence.

This was completely a slap in the face! The several battalion commanders of the Suzuki Brigade jumped up all at once. Battalion Commander Nakadesu Kosuke said angrily: "Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about whoever doesn't have combat effectiveness!" Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta didn't flinch at all. Although he was in the command post of the Infantry Third Brigade, there was only one Battalion Commander Nanguumo Takuto around him who could be considered one of his own.

But he wasn't afraid at all! Brigade Commander Suzuki Goro immediately ordered: "Battalion Commander Nakadesu! Get out immediately, reorganize the team and prepare to set off!"

He used to be the chief of staff of the Infantry Third Brigade, and he had been oppressed by a very strong-willed Brigade Commander Inoue Somu, so he was used to being oppressed. What was this bit of anger?

Surviving was the most important thing: wasn't that the case now? Inoue Somu was dead, but he had become the brigade commander of the Infantry Third Brigade.

So what if Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta took advantage of the situation for a while? As long as he was willing to be the vanguard in front of the entire brigade, that was fine.

His brigade had already lost a Rikuzen Kazuo Battalion, why hadn't these battalion commanders learned a lesson?

Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta and Battalion Commander Nanguumo Takuto strode away. Brigade Commander Suzuki watched them walk away with the eyes of someone caring for mentally handicapped children before saying to his subordinates:

"They are going to open the way for the entire brigade in front, to be cannon fodder. What's the harm in letting them take advantage of some words?

Do you all still remember Battalion Commander Rikuzen Kazuo? The lessons of the past are still not far away. Why bother to be brave and fight for this moment of anger."

Hearing this earnest advice from the brigade commander, the battalion commanders and regimental commanders who had been burning with anger were suddenly relieved.

They laughed and dispersed to make preparations for the attack.

Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta walked out of the front-line command post of the Infantry Third Brigade and immediately ordered: "Set off!"

More than a thousand Japanese troops who had already been prepared immediately walked towards Xuzhou.

They were still walking the road that the Rikuzen Kazuo Battalion had taken in the morning, but without the accompaniment of tanks.

Battalion Commander Tomyo Kenta of course knew that the road they were walking now was the same road that the Rikuzen Kazuo Battalion, which had set off from here in the morning, had taken.

However, he absolutely did not believe that his battalion would follow the old path of the Rikuzen Kazuo Battalion, which had been completely wiped out.

His battalion was not the supply unit of the Third Brigade that only knew how to feed cattle and drive horses. His battalion was a real veteran force.

It would definitely not repeat the same