SWDnovel In Chapter 302, the desperate cry of Yuukawa Shota as he rushes to Yoshizumi Ryosuke's aid.
In Chapter 302, the desperate cry of Yuukawa Shota as he rushes to Yoshizumi Ryosuke's aid.
Hearing this, Li Jianghe nodded in satisfaction, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Let them make a big commotion, don't worry about losses, fire all their ammunition."
"We need to give those little devils on the other side enough of a deterrent, so that old devil Yoshizumi Ryosuke will tremble at the sight of us."
Zhang Kewei, who was standing to the side, asked tentatively, his voice tinged with curiosity and worry.
"Commander Li, if I may ask, how many people are in your unit's guard detachment?"
Li Jianghe turned his head, smiled, and said in a calm tone as if he were talking about something very ordinary.
"Normally, there are around five thousand men, but for this attack on Huangkan Village, two tank battalions were temporarily added, bringing the total strength to about six thousand men."
Zhang Kewei stood there stunned, taking several seconds to come to his senses.
He originally thought that if Li Jianghe was going to launch a counterattack in Huangkan Village, he would organize at least 10,000, or even 20,000 troops.
After all, the opposing side consisted of two divisions and two mixed brigades, totaling nearly 60,000 men, a ratio of ten to one.
To Zhang Kewei's surprise, the entire Huangkan Village actually only had 6,000 people, less than a fraction of the other party's population.
That's not all, because at most only half, or around three thousand people, could actually participate in the counterattack.
Because the other half of the men need to be left to defend the position, they cannot all be sent out to launch a counterattack.
This... Zhang Kewei was dumbfounded, his mind went completely blank.
Thinking to himself, "Commander Li, I knew you were highly skilled and daring, but this is just too much! It's outrageously audacious."
You're not taking the Japanese devils seriously at all! Aren't you afraid of messing things up? What if the counterattack fails and you lose all your defenders?
"Isn't this too risky?" Zhang Kewei couldn't help but say, his voice full of worry.
Li Jianghe understood his thoughts and smiled calmly, a smile full of confidence and composure.
"Don't worry, I definitely wouldn't dare to do that to anyone else; that would be suicide."
"But if it were Yoshizumi Ryosuke, even if the attack didn't go smoothly and my troops retreated, that old devil wouldn't dare to pursue easily."
"He's been terrified of me. He's like a frightened bird, trembling at the sight of the Third Column's flag."
As he said this, he looked at the map and pointed heavily at the location of Qin Family Village.
"The main event tonight is not actually in Huangkan Village, but in Qinjiazhai, which is located in the north of Minshan Township."
"The remnants of the Japanese Third Division were mostly in this area, and we compressed them into a single unit."
"Our main force is already concentrating in this area, and we will launch a general offensive in half an hour."
After Li Jianghe finished speaking, he looked down at the time on his watch. It was almost time; the minute hand was about to reach the scheduled moment.
Zhang Kewei chuckled dryly, at a loss for words, feeling like a fool standing there.
Captain Li is truly a god; the battles he fights are divine battles, something a mere mortal like myself can never comprehend.
He could only stand silently to the side, looking at the telegrams and maps, feeling the weight of this incredible war.
Inside the 9th Division headquarters, Yoshizumi Ryosuke listened to the telegrams from the front lines, his expression growing increasingly grave.
Each telegram felt like a stone pressing on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.
Just as he had expected, the third column of armored forces on the other side launched an extremely sharp counterattack.
Those tanks moved like ghosts in the night, swift as the wind, catching the Japanese army off guard.
Moreover, there was fierce artillery support; the shells seemed to have eyes, targeting Japanese firing positions.
In a short time, the Third Column tore through several of their positions on the front lines as easily as tearing a piece of paper.
News of the loss of these positions, or telegrams pleading for help, are now flooding his desk.
Every letter cried out for reinforcements and said they couldn't hold on any longer; despair filled every word.
"The enemy's firepower is fierce, but their numbers don't seem to be that many," said Tasaka Hachijuchi, squinting at the map.
"I think we can launch a counterattack once the enemy's offensive slows down, catching them off guard."
He felt this was an opportunity, and if he seized it, there might be an unexpected breakthrough, allowing him to take over Huangkan Village in one fell swoop.
Yoshizumi Ryosuke immediately denied it.
"If I were you, I would give up this illusion; it's very likely a trap set by Li Jianghe."
"Once you try to counterattack, you'll fall into his trap, and then it will be too late to regret it."
Tasaka Hachiju looked at Yoshizumi Ryosuke and thought to himself, "You damned coward, how can you be so afraid of Li Jianghe's troops?"
He calls himself cautious, but he's clearly just cowardly! It's a psychological trauma inflicted by the enemy!
But now that the command of the front line is in the hands of Yoshizumi Ryosuke, Tasaka Hachijuchi can only mutter to himself and dare not say it out loud.
At the same time, a general attack on the Qin Family Village area was launched, with cannons roaring and flames shooting into the sky.
Those large-caliber howitzers rained shells down on the Japanese positions, blasting them so high they couldn't even lift their heads.
By 3 a.m., the guard detachment's offensive had reached its limit and they were unable to continue.
The tanks were running out of fuel and ammunition, and the soldiers were exhausted and needed to be rotated.
Therefore, Long Wenzhang ordered a retreat of troops to consolidate the captured positions and cease further advance.
Logically speaking, this is a very good opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
If the 9th and 107th Divisions concentrate their superior forces and launch a counter-offensive, they can take back the lost positions while the guard detachment is still establishing its foothold.
It is even possible that they could seize Huangkan Village, break the deadlock, and rescue the Third Division.
However, Yoshizumi Ryosuke did not do that. Instead, he cautiously dispatched small groups of troops to conduct probing attacks.
The troops moved forward slowly, like feeling their way across a river, and retreated immediately at the slightest sign of trouble.
Inside the 3rd Division headquarters, artillery shells began to fall more and more frequently around the area, as densely as hail.
There was even a 105mm grenade that exploded less than 50 meters from the command post.
The third column on the periphery launched an even more ferocious offensive, with troops attacking from three directions, like three sharp knives thrusting at once.
At least a hundred tanks were concentrated in each direction, those steel behemoths lined up like a moving iron wall.
Countless infantrymen cooperated in the operation, following behind the tanks, using submachine guns and grenades to mop up the remaining enemy forces.
As for the artillery barrage, it was so intense that it drove the Japanese army to despair, leaving them no chance to even look up.
Yu Chuanxiang held the phone receiver, his fingers trembling, and roared almost desperately.
"Yoshizumi Ryosuke! Where are your reinforcements?! Why haven't you taken Huangkan Village yet?!"