Chapter 18

Although Ban Tian Xin Zhe this old devil is arrogant, his battle results are genuine, and his tactics are very effective.

As the enemy artillery on the front line opened fire at full force, all soldiers of the New 1st Regiment instinctively thought this was another wave of the little devils' offensive. Li Yunlong originally deployed most soldiers on the front line, with a few on the flanks, but as the battle intensified, pressure at the front kept increasing, so he repeatedly had to draw troops to the front.

Actually Li Yunlong's decision was not wrong, but human inertia thinking is terrifying. The Sakata Regiment has already launched over ten attacks from the front, and this time the artillery fire is especially fierce; he even felt the enemy wanted to take the New 1st Regiment in one go.

Moreover, the regimental commander Li's daring to repeatedly draw troops from the flanks had its reasons; even though the battle has reached this point, he still had a reserve prepared. If the enemy dared to attack from the flanks, his reserve would move up.

Moreover, even before the pre-battle deployment, Li Yunlong had the soldiers prepare many landmines on the flanks, and he also had the signaler send word to friendly units.

As long as they hold out for a while, this seemingly weak defensive sector can become a man-eating beast, and it can cooperate with the 1st and 2nd Regiments to deliver a heavy blow to the enemy who looks down on them.

But this is a very bold decision; Li Yunlong, who is on the front lines with the New 1st Regiment, clearly understands that if he doesn't take a gamble, his New 1st Regiment will surely be gripped tightly and even be devoured. He can only gamble that the enemy on the opposite side will sneak attack from the flanks, and gamble that Blind Cheng's 2nd Regiment and Old Xu's 1st Regiment can spare some forces to support after the battle starts.

Behind the New 1st Regiment are the relocating division headquarters and the Eighth Route Army field hospital; if the main position of Mount Cangyun is lost, not only will allied units be affected, but the objects Li Yunlong is covering will also be directly exposed to the enemy's guns, which are the brothers and compatriots he swore to protect even at the cost of his life.

"Brothers, everyone must hold on. We have no retreat; behind us are our division headquarters and our field hospital. Even if we all die here today, we cannot let a single devil pass before we die."

As the Japanese artillery fire ceased, the Japanese on the front battlefield held their skirmish line and launched a pig‑rush toward Li Yunlong's main position.

According to Sakata Nobutetsu's understanding of the Eighth Route Army, their ammunition was lacking, so even the Japanese tasked with the feint attack on the front battlefield were all full of fighting spirit.

But Sakata Nobutetsu never imagined that, thanks to Zhang Qian's all‑out supply, the 386th Brigade's troops were not lacking ammunition, and moreover the New 1st Regiment had this profit‑seeking regiment commander Li Yunlong, leaving them swimming in money compared with other sister units.

As the Japanese soldiers drew ever closer to the forward positions, Li Yunlong gave a single order, and the concealed firepower points came alive. Light and heavy machine guns, together with rifles, abruptly broke the Japanese charge's rhythm. But Li Yunlong, who had enlisted young and followed the regiment on campaigns east and west, instantly realized that this Japanese offensive was all thunder and little rain: not only were their numbers insufficient, only about five hundred, but also the grenade launchers and mortars that usually accompanied their charges had not fired.

"Damn it, the Japanese are making a feint; their real target is surely our two‑wing defense line! Huzi! Go tell the reserve troops to take up positions according to the original plan!"

Upon hearing Li Yunlong's shout, Huzi didn't answer but sprang up and ran straight to where the reserve troops were assembling.

The soldiers assigned by Li Yunlong to the reserve, hearing the gunfire and battle cries on the field, were already impatient to the extreme; they wished they could rush to the front lines and fight bloody alongside their comrades. But orders are as firm as a mountain—every action must follow command, and without the regiment commander's order they could not take a single step.

The two company commanders of the reserve saw Huzi running and shouting; even without hearing what he was yelling, they knew it was time to go into action.

When tasked with the rearguard mission, as the hardest‑fighting unit of the 386th Brigade,

Regiment Commander Li willingly took on the most dangerous front sector of this blocking action.

But Old Li was never a reckless hothead; after the brigade distributed the combat missions, he immediately went to the Independent Regiment and the nd Regiment to borrow the Sha‑shal light machine guns and Stokes mortars that Zhang Qian had procured, plus the brigade commander's share, so the reserves of these two companies were truly armed to the teeth.

A reserve equipped with thirty light machine guns and six mortars could fairly be called two fire‑support companies.

The Sha‑shal light machine gun's problem had been resolved during this month's integration with the troops; as long as the magazine is not fully loaded when loading, jamming can be largely avoided.

Just as with the shotgun, although the weapon is powerful, its recoil during sustained fire is severe, making aiming impossible.

At the same time, the shotgun's shells eject upward, making them likely to strike the face when fired, so someone devised a method: firing the gun sideways horizontally, which both cured the severe upward jump during rapid fire and stopped the shells from flying wildly.

As the soldiers of the two reserve units were about to reach their designated line, they heard the booming booms of landmine explosions.

The reserve soldiers had no time to greet their comrades on the original line; under the platoon and company leaders' direction they jumped into the battle and set up a fire net.

When the Japanese stepped on the mines they realized there was an ambush, but having been brainwashed by bushido, after hearing their officers' cries they still immediately launched a pig‑rush charge.

The two battalion commanders simultaneously drew their command swords, blades pointed toward the New 1st Regiment's position. Behind each of them five hundred Japanese soldiers, shouldering Type 38 rifles with fixed bayonets, charged toward the New 1st Regiment's position.

Because of the hasty advance, these Japanese failed to maintain even a basic skirmish formation.

In fact, the Sakata Regiment attacking the main position of Mount Cangyun was not at full strength. Their line was stretched too thin, Sakata Nobutetsu's appetite was too great, and aside from the field hospital he intended to take no prisoners of the three regiments on the opposite hill that hindered his advance.

Only fifteen hundred Japanese faced the New 1st Regiment; the two battalions conducting the wing attacks each actually numbered about five hundred.

These two battalion commanders were also veteran Japanese who had followed Sakata; moreover, at this moment they firmly believed that the unnamed Eighth Route Army ahead had been fooled by the regiment commander's frontal feint. In order to seize military glory, they kept urging the Japanese to speed up.

At that very moment, a cry rang out from the Eighth Route Army's position: 'Fire!'

Nearly twenty light machine guns and several heavy machine guns spat flames simultaneously. The artillerymen's Stokes mortars and 60 mm mortars sent shell after shell into where the Japanese were relatively concentrated.

Rat‑tat‑tat… rat‑tat‑tat

The battlefield was filled with the firing sound of the Sha‑shal light machine gun, and dozens of Japanese at the very front fell like wheat.

This French‑made light machine gun, jokingly called the 'jam‑king' by French soldiers, made its debut here in Jinzhong, enjoying a second lease on life, like the Japanese invaders baring their fangs.