Chapter 1 Kobayashi Munefumi, the Battalion Commander, Flees in Disarray

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi set an example by immediately fleeing towards Jiujiang under the escort of his guards after issuing the order.

Despite his escape, he was still very concerned and brought along the two geishas who had performed the tea ceremony earlier; this was something he had specifically instructed the guard to do.

Before exiting the train car, he was unsure of the overall situation of his battalion.

It wasn't until he fled from the rear of the train that he discovered the entire hillside beside the train was full of Chinese soldiers charging.

His battalion only had a small number of Japanese soldiers left who were putting up a desperate resistance. It was clear that those soldiers wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

There were still twenty or thirty Japanese soldiers guarding the rear of the train. They were somewhat excited when they saw the guards from Kobayashi Munefumi's battalion headquarters rush out.

Sergeant Major Kobayashi Yūdai had been encouraged several times today, and the ardor in his heart had been roused and cooled several times over.

Now, seeing Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi personally walk out of the train car, he thought it was to supervise the battle, and his blood began to boil again.

However, for these Japanese soldiers, this excitement was merely a last burst of energy. Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo coldly ordered, "You, immediately launch an attack towards Jiujiang!"

No matter which direction they attacked, Sergeant Major Kobayashi Yūdai and the others were very excited. Being able to show their bravery in front of the battalion commander might catch his eye and win his favor, which would undoubtedly be beneficial for promotion.

The soldiers who received the order immediately changed direction, rushing towards the rear of the train.

Since the beginning of the battle, these Japanese soldiers had never charged in this direction, as charging in this direction was clearly an act of escape.

Now, with the order from Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo, these Japanese soldiers were escaping under orders.

Whether it was escaping or attacking, Sergeant Major Kobayashi Yūdai was always at the forefront. He was a Japanese soldier who dreamed of becoming a general.

In front of Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi, they charged with even more enthusiasm. Major Kasukawa Kengo of the Third Battalion was a keen observer, with eyes in the back of his head.

He was fortunate not to be injured in the earlier directional mine explosion. After the explosion, he discovered that the remaining Japanese soldiers in his battalion who could still fight didn't even amount to a company.

Under such circumstances, there was no way to drive away the Chinese soldiers on the hillside.

Major Kasukawa Kengo decisively led the remaining soldiers back, leaving only the corpses and wounded behind.

Before leaving, Major Kasukawa also gave the wounded soldiers an order: "Hold the line!"

Now that he had discovered that Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi's guard had appeared at the rear of the train, he immediately understood what was happening.

Without hesitation, he led the remaining hundred or so Japanese soldiers towards Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi. As for the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment charging from the other direction, Major Kasukawa Kengo knew very well that they wouldn't be able to stop them.

Now, as long as they could break through the encirclement and escape from here, they could be saved.

Sergeant Major Chitose Akikichi was an ordinary Japanese soldier in Major Kasukawa Kengo's battalion, but he was lucky.

When the train overturned, he was squeezed between the bodies of two Japanese soldiers, causing their breastbones to cave in.

With the two soldiers as cushions, Chitose Akikichi was unharmed. During the earlier charge, most of the surrounding soldiers were injured, but he was only startled by the huge explosion of the directional mine and returned with the major unscathed.

Now, he was closely following Major Kasukawa, crouching down as much as possible, hunching over, and holding his gun, running quickly along the train.

This group of soldiers running along the overturned train immediately caught the attention of the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment.

Anti-aircraft machine guns and infantry cannons chased after them, and many soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment also charged towards their position.

Despite this, Major Kasukawa Kengo's battalion had no intention of stopping. He knew that running was the only chance to survive, and stopping meant certain death.

When the last of his battalion joined forces with Kobayashi Munefumi's battalion headquarters, the number of soldiers suddenly doubled to two hundred.

They were already fifty meters away from the rear of the train, and the gunfire from the left and right became more intense. There were pursuers behind them, but the resistance from the front had decreased significantly.

This made Kobayashi Munefumi and his group excited. If they ran a little further, they would be safe.

Just as they were thinking this, a series of explosions suddenly erupted.

The familiar sound of explosions rang out again. Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi and his guard were merely frightened.

The soldiers of Major Kasukawa Kengo's battalion, however, already had a psychological shadow. Hearing this familiar sound, several soldiers were so frightened that they wet themselves. They were too familiar with the recipe for this kind of explosion.

Sure enough, before the sound of the explosions had completely faded, countless iron pellets flew over like raindrops. All that could be heard were the whistling of the pellets as they flew past their ears, or the shuddering as they struck their bodies.

A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier! Sergeant Major Kobayashi Yūdai, with his dream of becoming a general, fell.

He fell in this round of directional mine explosions, along with many other Japanese soldiers.

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi watched as more than half of the soldiers from the company that had just been there fell. Even the two geishas he had specifically ordered the guards to bring along had fallen this time.

Now, he had no mood to care for women. Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi ordered in a terrified voice, "Attack! Continue the attack!"

His guard captain, Hyakutai Takeo, quickly repeated the battalion commander's order, "Attack! Attack!"

Although Hyakutai Takeo was still shouting, his voice was filled with despair, and he looked at the battalion commander with helpless eyes.

Major Kasukawa Kengo was also unable to escape the explosion this time. Although he had prepared in advance and deliberately stayed in the middle of the formation during the charge,

the iron pellets that flew everywhere during the explosion still struck him.

Falling in a pool of blood, Major Kasukawa Kengo looked at the sky with a longing gaze. He still wanted to live.

Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo's eyes were filled with fanaticism and urging. At this point, they were destined to fail to break through. It was time for the battalion commander to take his own life.

If the battalion commander were captured by the Chinese army, it would be a disgrace to the entire Japanese army. As his guard captain, he would also be implicated.

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi looked at the fewer than one hundred Japanese soldiers remaining and felt that he could still salvage the situation. He drew his pistol and shouted loudly, "Charge out!" His chief of staff, Katori Kazuma, quickly echoed, "Charge out!"

If they couldn't break through and were taken prisoner, that was definitely unacceptable. Then there was only one way out: death. He didn't want to die either.

Under these circumstances, breaking through, using all their strength to break through, was what they wanted to do most.

Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo, however, had no confidence in their ability to break through. He was already prepared to help Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi take his own life.

Just then, they heard the sound of a train whistle in the distance, coming closer and closer.

For Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi, this sound was like timely rain after a long drought, or like the aroma of steamed buns to someone on the verge of starvation.

He immediately shouted, "Our reinforcements have arrived! Haha, our reinforcements have arrived!"

Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo looked at the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment, who were less than one hundred meters away, and finally didn't help Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi take his own life.

He took the lead and charged forward, hoping to safely deliver the battalion commander to the reinforcements who were on their way.

Standing on the hilltop, observing the overall situation, Lin Fan discovered a group of Japanese soldiers charging towards the approaching train.

At this point, he acted. The distance wasn't far, about two or three kilometers. There was no need to waste anti-aircraft gun shells for such a distance.

With a mortar in hand, he had everything within three kilometers under control!

Lin Fan fired five shells in succession, and Kobayashi Munefumi's group, who were fleeing, were suddenly met with a catastrophic disaster.

The shells landed in the middle of their formation, and Japanese soldiers fell in heaps. Only a few were lucky enough to survive.

They were still trying to escape, but Lin Fan clearly had no intention of letting them go. He continued to fire a few more shells at the remaining soldiers.

The Japanese soldiers who were fleeing with Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi finally all fell on the railway. These soldiers had seen the hope of survival but fell when they were closest to it.

This time, Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo no longer had to struggle: the guard captain, who had already fallen to the ground, watched with his own eyes as Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi's body was blown into the air by a shell.

Battalion Commander Kobayashi Munefumi was dead. He would not become a disgrace! That was enough to set Guard Captain Hyakutai Takeo's mind at ease!

Battalion Commander Kitō Tarō had been commanding the few remaining Japanese soldiers under his command to resist stubbornly, but the few dozen soldiers remaining in his battalion were simply unable to withstand the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment attacking from three sides.

After Battalion Commander Kitō Tarō was killed by a grenade thrown into the train car, organized resistance on the entire train came to an end.

Kange Yukojiro Ken and Ishifuku Osamu were trembling under the train, hiding. They saw the heroic姿姿姿 of the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment charging down from the hillside.

The two soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads at the same time, indicating that they should not fire.

More and more Chinese soldiers charged down the hillside. Sergeant Kange Yukojiro Ken, frightened, even threw his gun away, while signaling to Ishifuku Osamu to do the same.

The two soldiers had already silently surrendered in their hearts, but the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment didn't know that there were still two prisoners under the train.

The gunfire on the entire battlefield was gradually dying down, with only sporadic gunfire in the distance. The two soldiers planned to stay there until the end of time, hoping that the Chinese soldiers would never discover them, so they wouldn't have to become prisoners.

The two of them could wait and run back afterward, and they could make up any story they wanted. Today's battle resulted in no survivors from the entire battalion.

When they returned, they would definitely be regarded as heroes, after all, they would be the last two Japanese soldiers of the Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion, and would become a symbol.

Just as Sergeant Kange Yukojiro Ken was thinking more and more beautifully, a grenade was thrown in from behind.

He and Ishifuku Osamu only heard a "Boom!" and then knew nothing more.

At this time, the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment heard Company Commander Jing ordering, "Everyone, pay attention and look under the train. There are Japanese soldiers hiding under the train."

The second echelon of Japanese soldiers departing from Jiujiang to support Mahuiling was composed of Japanese soldiers drawn from the garrison troops of various divisions of the Eleventh Army in Jiujiang.

This force, consisting of seven infantry companies and seven machine gun companies, was commanded by Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki.

The Fujiyama Tōmi infantry company of the 9th Division was at the front, and there were also two machine guns mounted on the roofs of the two cars of their company, as ordered by Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki.

This was also to prevent possible attacks by Chinese guerrillas. Japanese soldiers were stationed on top of each car to maintain vigilance.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was a cautious Japanese soldier. This time, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki did not allow the train to run too fast.

He had the train whistle all the way, as a signal to the Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion struggling on the railway line.

Indicating that reinforcements had arrived, Kobayashi Munefumi also received and understood this signal.

However, the signal came too late. The Japanese soldiers of the Fujiyama Tōmi infantry company at the front of the train heard the sound of explosions coming from ahead.

The train did not continue to advance into the battlefield. Although they were an infantry battalion, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki still wanted to stop some distance away from the battlefield.

This would give him more options, just as they were preparing to slow down.

The attack from Lin Fan arrived. Lin Fan used an anti-aircraft gun to fire a shell at the front of the train.

Then, he fired another shot at the rear of the train. After two consecutive shells, the train that Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was riding on completely lost its autonomy. Whether they advanced or retreated, there was no way to do so.

The train could only rely on inertia to slide towards the battlefield. The Japanese soldiers in front of the train saw that the railway ahead had no rails, and they shouted in panic, "Stop the train! Stop the train!"

With two explosions, destroying the front of the train, all the members of this Japanese reinforcement force knew that they had arrived on the battlefield.

The Japanese soldiers in each car panicked. Some of the smarter ones shouted loudly, "Brake! Emergency brake!"

Each car had an emergency brake. Even though the front of the train had been destroyed by shells, the train stubbornly relied on inertia to slide towards the battlefield.

They finally stopped where they could see the overturned train in front of them. The Japanese soldiers of the Tsukamoto Kazuki Battalion were lucky.

At least their train did not overturn. This was the greatest good fortune.

The Japanese soldiers of the Fujiyama Tōmi infantry company could clearly see that the area around the overturned train ahead was full of Chinese soldiers.

The Chinese soldiers were busily doing something around the train. Although they didn't know what they were doing, they were sure that they were not firing. The battle was over.

The Japanese soldiers of the Yoshioka Yū machine gun company standing on the roof of the car could see even further and more clearly. They saw that most of the Japanese train had plunged into the mud.

Under these circumstances, one could easily imagine that the Japanese soldiers on this train were finished.

Their greatest feeling was that the entire Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion was finished. Although reinforcing them was the mission of the Japanese soldiers.

But now, the Japanese soldiers of the Tōmi Company could no longer worry about this impossible mission.

They saw that the overturned train was full of Chinese soldiers, who were charging towards them.

The soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment received the order: "Establish a defense line along the tail of the overturned train and prepare to respond to the Japanese attack."

Then, they saw a pile of rockets flying through the air and exploding on and around the newly arrived train.

Lin Fan didn't stop, constantly firing shells until he had bombed all thirty cars, and then he stopped.

While the rockets were bombing, the soldiers of the Second Regiment quickly charged from behind the mountain towards the rear of the newly arrived train.

This was an unexpected arrival of Japanese soldiers, and the Special Operations Brigade had not prepared in advance.

Lin Fan also did not expect that the Japanese would send another reinforcement force in such a short period of time.

With this lesson, he had ordered the Second Regiment to quickly interpose towards this train and occupy favorable terrain on the hills around the train and behind it.

At the same time, he ordered the First to Fifth Companies of the Fifteenth Regiment to retreat from the battlefield, advance two kilometers along the path taken by the Second Regiment to ambush, to prepare for the third batch of Japanese reinforcements. If the Japanese had a fourth batch of reinforcements, the Special Operations Brigade would not continue fighting and would immediately retreat.

Regimental Commander Ning Hezhi and Regimental Commander Shi Yi received Lin Fan's order: the two regiments would quickly advance along the railway to the battlefield to transport supplies.

Kobayashi Munefumi's five thousand Japanese soldiers had prepared a great deal of combat supplies. The reason was simple: they were sending the supplies to Mahuiling along the way.

When they set out, not a single Japanese soldier believed that they would encounter an ambush, and of course, no Japanese soldier dared to think that the entire battalion would be wiped out.

There were too many spoils of war on the battlefield, and the Special Operations Brigade did not have enough manpower. Another reason was that Lin Fan did not know how many more batches of reinforcements the Japanese had, so he could only take away all the spoils of war on the battlefield after wiping out this batch of Japanese soldiers.

After being attacked, the train continued to rush forward relying on inertia. Without the power of the locomotive and with the emergency brakes of each car pulled down, the train finally stopped.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki's order had been conveyed: "Get off the train! Establish a defense line!"

Whether or not he gave this order, the various companies on the train had already taken the initiative to get off the train.

On the train, they were completely sitting ducks, without even a place to hide.

Each car had a large hole facing the hillside, which was blown out by Lin Fan's anti-aircraft guns.

It was because of this shell that all the Japanese soldiers gave up the idea of using the train as a shelter.

At this time, the train had stopped, and one Japanese soldier after another crawled out of the car doors and the blown-out holes.

Fujiyama Tōmi, the commander of the infantry company, pointed to the hillside and ordered, "Charge up and occupy it!"

The same order was issued by Yoshioka Yū, the commander of the machine gun company. They were from the same division and immediately had the idea of huddling together for warmth in today's environment.

The Japanese soldiers of the other divisions were the same. They combined in groups of one infantry company and one machine gun company, all thinking of occupying the hillside next to the train first.

However, the Fujiyama Tōmi infantry company had already taken the first step to charge up the hillside.

The Japanese soldiers of the other companies could only rush out of the train, crawl on the hillside dozens of meters away from the Japanese soldiers, and wait for Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki's next order.

These Japanese soldiers risked the fierce bombardment of rockets to charge up the hillside.

On the other side of the hillside, several companies of the Second Regiment were also striving to charge up the peak.

A group of Japanese soldiers risked the bombardment of rockets to charge up the hillside, which surprised Lin Fan somewhat. Shouldn't these Japanese soldiers immediately retreat and withdraw from the battlefield?

The situation on the battlefield was very clear: the team that the Japanese soldiers were trying to rescue had been wiped out, and this team that had just arrived on the battlefield could completely retreat in time to avoid further expansion of the battlefield.

Most commanders would do this under these circumstances, right?

Withdraw from the battlefield? Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had never even thought of such an idea. He was the battalion commander of the Sixth Division of the Japanese Army.

He had only returned to Jiujiang to treat malaria, and now that he had recovered, he was preparing to return to the battlefield in the next few days.

It just so happened that this time, the expedition needed a Japanese battalion commander to lead the troops, and he became the undisputed leader.

In the Eleventh Army, the Sixth Division was a legendary existence. Their arrogance could be seen from a small matter.

When they captured Huangmei County, the Sixth Division sent the battle report to the headquarters of the Eleventh Army, and then there was no follow-up.

A staff officer dared to send a telegram to question Commander Okamura Neji: "Why didn't you send us a congratulatory telegram even though we won the battle?"

This question from a small staff officer in the division made Commander Okamura Neji feel that there was a major flaw in his work.

He was so frightened that he apologized to the Sixth Division at that time, admitting that his work was flawed and appeasing the staff officers of the Sixth Division.

Then he realized that he seemed to have drafted an award telegram and had the Japanese send it on the day the Sixth Division won the battle.

He had his chief of staff check and found that there were more than one hundred unmailed telegrams in the telegraph room.

Even so, Commander Okamura Neji specially sent an apology telegram to the Sixth Division, stating that his work was not in place and that their glory had not been fully realized.

A small staff officer of the Sixth Division was able to have such confidence because of their combat effectiveness. On the north bank of the Yangtze River, they had completed the tasks of six divisions on the south bank of the Yangtze River with just one division.

It was because the Sixth Division's military achievements were so dazzling that Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki became the undisputed temporary battalion commander today, fully commanding these fourteen companies.

It was also because he was the battalion commander of the Sixth Division that there was no possibility of retreating today.

Not only could he not retreat, but he also had to defend this place and defeat and rout the Chinese troops in front of him. Only such an operation could be considered what the Sixth Division should do.

Of course, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was quite confident in defeating the Chinese troops in front of him.

What Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was now watching was the scene of the two companies of the Ninth Division charging up the mountain despite the bombardment:

When Company Commander Fujiyama Tōmi ordered his soldiers to jump off the train, he immediately ordered them to charge up the hillside.

These Japanese soldiers had to consolidate their rear if they wanted to attack the Chinese soldiers on the railroad in front of them.

This section of the hillside would be their rear, and as long as they established a long defensive line on the hillside, they could attack forward without any worries.

He and the Yoshioka Yū machine gun company were both from the Ninth Division. Among all the companies dispatched this time, Company Commander Fujiyama Tōmi of the infantry company had a strong sense of superiority: these Japanese soldiers around him were all trash, and their combined strength was not as strong as his two companies.

The Ninth Division was the strongest fighting force of the Japanese army on the south bank of the Yangtze River, and their pride was based on facts: Mahuiling was captured by them, and they were about to continue attacking in the direction of Ruichang before handing it over to the 106th Division to defend.

Among the six divisions on the south bank of the Yangtze River, the Ninth Division was the strongest, so they did not recognize that the Sixth Division was the strongest.

The Japanese soldiers of the Ninth Division believed that the Sixth Division was just lucky, and the Chinese troops they encountered on the north bank of the Yangtze River were weak.

Their view was also based on facts: the Chinese troops defending the north bank of the Yangtze River were the Fifth War Area. There were only two or three elite divisions of the Chinese army in the Fifth War Area, and the rest were all local warlords.

Their equipment and the quality of their soldiers were still a gap compared to the regular army of the Chinese army.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki rushed out of the train, stood halfway up the hillside, and issued a new order: "The Tanaka Toshigane infantry company of the 27th Division and the Zenbu Munetake machine gun company will immediately attack forward towards Mahuiling along the railway line. The remaining troops will disperse immediately to avoid the Chinese army's artillery bombardment."

At this point, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was still in a good mood: although the Chinese army's artillery fire was so fierce that it surprised him somewhat, the opposing soldiers did not seem to be as powerful as the artillery fire.

His conclusion was also based on facts: after discovering their arrival, those Chinese soldiers had been nervously establishing a defensive line along the railway line towards the hillside.

These soldiers were ridiculously using some small carts piled in front, and they were still digging fortifications non-stop.

Wasn't it a little too late to start digging fortifications when the battle had already reached their doorstep?

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki watched the Special Operations Brigade not attack, but instead adopt a defensive posture, and he believed that this was an ordinary Chinese army.

Because that was always the case with Chinese troops: they never took the initiative to attack, they were always passively defending.

Defend! Defend! Always defend! When they couldn't defend, they retreated.

For more than a year, the Chinese army had retreated from Shanghai to Nanjing, and from Nanjing to Xuzhou, and now they had retreated to Wuhan.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki had 100% confidence in defeating a troop like that.

The Japanese soldiers had already appeared in front of them, and they were still digging fortifications? Not a single soldier of the Fifteenth Regiment who was digging fortifications asked such a question.

They knew very well that it was never too late to dig fortifications, only not digging was too late.

Just like the Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion, which had just been wiped out by the Fifteenth Regiment, the battle had been going on for nearly an hour, and these Japanese soldiers had not even dug out a fortification.

If they had Japanese soldiers digging fortifications from the beginning of the battle, they could have dug out fortifications suitable for hiding and resisting many bullets in an hour.

Company Commander Lü Jiagui of the Sixth Company watched as Japanese soldiers rushed out of the smoky battlefield despite the artillery bombardment.

This time, there was not enough time, and the Fifteenth Regiment could not deploy directional mines in front of the defensive line, which was a pity.

However, this did not affect the defensive lines of the Sixth and Seventh Companies. The defensive lines of the Sixth and Seventh Companies had been extended along the hillside to the top of the mountain.

The Eighth Company, which still had the remaining forces, was defending on the top of the mountain. Originally, this defensive line could be deployed with just one company.

Now, the Fifteenth Regiment had used a full three companies to defend this line, and the purpose was of course only one: to defend this line well, so that the troops behind the defensive line could clean up the battlefield and transport the supplies away.

Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen had the three companies place heavy machine guns in front to defend, and some of the soldiers in each company were on standby to snipe the Japanese soldiers, while some of the soldiers were quickly digging fortifications.

The First to Fifth Companies were still interposing at this time, and Company Commander Jing Chengxuan was leading the five companies, running quickly. Their task was to interpose behind this train.

They were not to intercept these Japanese soldiers on the train and prevent them from returning to Jiujiang. Their task was to interpose further away and block the third batch of Japanese reinforcements that might arrive.

The Ninth and Tenth Companies were cleaning up the battlefield on the train. They needed to roughly clean up the supplies on the train.

The two companies cleaning up the supplies had deployed all the heavy weapons of the entire company. The mortars and infantry guns of the five companies had now been concentrated for use.

When he saw a team of Japanese soldiers rushing out of the smoke, Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen ordered, "Mortars and infantry guns, aim at the Japanese soldiers and bombard them."

They were not only to bombard the Japanese soldiers rushing towards the Sixth Company, but also to bombard the Japanese soldiers rushing towards the hillside.

The Second Regiment was charging towards the hillside from the back of the mountain. They received the order to set off after discovering the Japanese train.

The distance was much farther than the Japanese soldiers, but the road ahead for the Second Regiment was not blocked by artillery fire, which was an advantage.

Even so, the First Company, which was rushing at the forefront, was still at the foot of the mountain, while the Fujiyama Tōmi Company had already rushed to the halfway point of the mountain.

Of course, such a situation could not allow the Japanese soldiers to get up the mountain so smoothly. Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen ordered the infantry guns and mortars to mainly fire at the Japanese soldiers charging towards the top of the mountain.

In any case, they had to delay the Japanese soldiers' charge. These bombardments by the Fifteenth Regiment immediately made Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki aware of a trace of danger.

Although he did not know where the danger would come from, this intuition, which had been honed through countless battles on the battlefield, made him feel that something was wrong.

This dangerous feeling was definitely not from the shells that were still falling, so what could it be?

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was crawling on the ground, carefully assessing the situation on the battlefield. He believed that there might be a problem with the rear that he was preparing to establish.

Thinking of this, Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki ordered: "The Kato Yuto infantry company of the 101st Division and the Ito Jiro machine gun company will immediately join the team that is rushing to seize the mountain."

He thought that sending four companies to guard such a small mountain was an overreaction.

The Kato Yuto infantry company and the Ito Jiro machine gun company, which received the order, immediately rushed towards the mountain from another direction.

These forty or so cars, parked in the position, only had one isolated peak. As long as it was occupied, it would be the commanding height of the surrounding area.

Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki thought in his heart about the same thing as Lin Fan: "The Chinese army on the opposite side has ambushed the Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion.

They should be considered to have completed their mission successfully. Why don't they retreat now?"

According to the results of previous battles of the Chinese army, being able to ambush a Japanese infantry battalion was a great victory.

Why didn't this Chinese troop retreat? If they retreated, he would definitely pursue them for a while.

But the mountains here were rugged, and Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki felt that there was no way to catch up with their main force, at most, he would only catch up with a company left by the Chinese army to cover the main force.

Did they destroy the Kobayashi Munefumi Battalion of five thousand Japanese soldiers and not even want to pay the loss of one company?

While Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki was thinking, the fierce artillery bombardment finally stopped.

The rocket bombardment of the Special Operations Brigade had stopped, but the bombardment of the mortars and Type 92 infantry guns of the Fifteenth continued.

Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen had not allowed these artillery to stop since he issued the order: because there were still many shells in the train that had just been ambushed, enough for him to continue fighting here until dark.

The two anti-aircraft machine gun companies of the Special Operations Brigade were also nervously moving their positions at this time.

Their previous position was to deal with the previous batch of Japanese troops. The Japanese soldiers of the Second Echelon led by Battalion Commander Tsukamoto Kazuki were already in the shooting dead angle of the two anti-aircraft machine guns, so they had to move their positions.

Even the position where Lin Fan was now was also a dead angle for the Japanese soldiers hiding on the hillside, and he could not directly attack them.

The artillery fire of the five companies of the Fifteenth Regiment continued to maintain the bombardment of the Japanese soldiers, which brought great difficulties to the Japanese soldiers of the Fujiyama Tōmi infantry company. There were craters everywhere on their advancing path.

The artillery fire of these Chinese troops was still too fierce, especially now that the artillery bombardment around the train had stopped.

In contrast to his company, the Kato Yuto infantry company of the 101st Division and the Ito Jiro machine gun company did not encounter any bombardment on their charging path.

This was not because Regimental Commander Shangguan Zhiwen was biased, but because the two Japanese companies that started charging later had found a blind spot in the sight of the Fifteenth Regiment, and the actions of these companies were not discovered by the soldiers of the Fifteenth Regiment at all.

The Japanese soldiers of the Kato Yuto infantry company and the Ito Jiro machine gun company of the 101st Division had a great advantage in climbing the mountain without any obstruction.

These Japanese soldiers were already quite tired when they rushed to the top of the mountain in one go.

After Sergeant Ando Juro, holding a light machine gun, rushed to the top of the mountain, he put the machine gun on the ground and collapsed, panting heavily.

Those Japanese soldiers who rushed up with only Type 38 rifles were all tired, not to mention those who were holding machine guns.

The heavy machine guns of the machine gun company were still on the hillside and had not rushed up.

After panting for a few breaths, Sergeant Ando Juro put his ear to the ground and heard the continuous sound of artillery shells exploding on the ground, dense footsteps, and found it amusing.

At this time, Company Commander Shi Junxia had already led the soldiers of the First Company up.

The First Company was also the infantry first, and the heavy machine guns were still behind. Seeing that the Japanese soldiers were also on the top of the mountain, the two sides were less than twenty meters apart.

The brave win when they meet on a narrow road! Company Commander Shi ordered loudly: "Grenades! Charge up and drive the Japanese soldiers down."

His order was issued very quickly. The first platoon was led by Jing Liquan, and this platoon had always been the reconnaissance platoon of the entire company.

These soldiers heard the word grenade and threw the grenades without thinking.

At this time, Ando Juro realized that there was a Chinese army on the top of the mountain. At this time, he realized that the dense footsteps he heard were actually those of these Chinese soldiers.

He quickly rolled over and lay prone on the ground, struggling to adjust the direction of the machine gun.

At this moment, grenades fell from the sky, and in the explosion of the grenades, Ando Juro heard an order from the opposite side:

"The first platoon will charge up and kill the Japanese soldiers on the top of the mountain, the second platoon will immediately establish a defensive line to suppress the Japanese soldiers on the hillside. The third platoon will assist the second platoon!"

The sudden explosion on the top of the mountain made Company Commander Xuan Yiren of the Second Company, who was not far from the top of the mountain, anxious. He ordered loudly: "Speed up and rush up, the First Company has already engaged with the Japanese soldiers."

Company Commander Xuan Yiren knew that if the Japanese soldiers occupied such an isolated peak, it would be very difficult to attack it.

They could see its strategic value, and the Japanese soldiers were not fools, and they would definitely send troops to attack this top of the mountain.

On the other side, Company Commander Fujiyama Tōmi heard the explosions on the top of the mountain and was surprised that his company had been attacked by artillery shells, and the speed of advancement had not been fast.

Now he could not be slow anymore, Company Commander Fujiyama Tōmi pulled out his command sword and pointed to the top of the mountain, which was close at hand: "Kill!"

His company originally had one hundred and eighty-four Japanese soldiers, and after charging until now, less than one hundred Japanese soldiers were still able to stand up and attack.

Fortunately, the Yoshioka Yū machine gun company, which was following closely behind them, still had about one hundred Japanese soldiers, and the two companies could still muster the strength of one company.

These Japanese soldiers had heard the explosions from the top of the mountain, and they also heard a lot of noise above, and these Japanese soldiers had to desperately speed up and charge up.

If they were intercepted by the Chinese army at this position, these Japanese soldiers would probably not be able to survive.

Less than a minute after Company Commander Fujiyama Tōmi issued the order, the figures of Chinese soldiers had already appeared on the top of the mountain.