Chapter 460: Shanyuan Dashan is Full of Confidence

After Zhou Wang finished saluting, he was just preparing to leave with the briefcase given by the Battalion Commander.

Wang Yaowu called Xiang Yu!

"Xiang Yu, latest order: your unit is to prepare to retreat; the Artillery Regiment will provide fire cover for your battalion."

Upon receiving the call, Xiang Yu was a bit stunned; just a moment ago, he had requested to withdraw, and the Division Commander had scolded him severely, demanding that he must hold the position.

If he dared to retreat, he would be executed; less than ten minutes later, the Division Commander had actually called personally to order him to retreat.

Although Xiang Yu felt some doubt in his heart, a soldier's duty is to obey orders!

"Yes!" Xiang Yu responded loudly, "Division Commander, our battalion will withdraw immediately."

After hanging up the phone, Xiang Yu's gaze swept over everyone, "Retreat!"

"The Division Commander has personally issued the order to us; our battalion will immediately withdraw from the position, and the Artillery Regiment will provide fire support in a moment."

"This is the telegram sent to me by Brigade Commander Shanyuan Dashan; his brigade has successfully routed the blocking Central Army and is now closing in on us."

Once the Regiment Commander leaves, the position of Regiment Commander of the Infantry 234th Regiment will be filled from among the three Battalion Commanders, which is why Hashimoto Jiro is attacking so vigorously now.

"Brothers, take everything you can carry; leave what you can't on the position to make a midnight snack for the little devils, treat them well so the Japanese Army doesn't laugh at our Central Army for not knowing the way of hospitality."

"Division Commander, reports received from soldiers on the front line indicate that the Chinese troops seem to be retreating; the commander at the front asks if we should dispatch Imperial Warriors to pursue?"

"Yosh!"

Now, actively withdraw from the battlefield and disengage from the combat zone as quickly as possible!

Shanyuan Dashan's brigade is an enhanced version of a division, and with his own 6th Division, the two divisions combined would require the Chinese army to mobilize at least over a hundred thousand troops to encircle and annihilate them.

"Imperial Warriors, the time to sacrifice yourselves for His Majesty the Emperor has come; warriors, for the Empire, for His Majesty the Emperor, charge..."

Hashimoto Jiro, that old devil, is very lucky; during the previous shelling, this old devil was fortunate enough to survive.

Just ten minutes ago, the Commander of the Central China Area Army, Hata Shunroku, and the Commander of the 11th Army, Okamura Yasuji, had already issued him an ultimatum: the Central Army position must be captured within one hour.

After all, he had previously understood the tactics played by the Sichuan Army, but now that the Shanyuan Dashan Brigade is about to close in, he believes the Sichuan Army is afraid of being "dumpling-wrapped" by the Imperial Army and having a "blossom in the center" attack.

"Watanabe, you are so flustered... what is going on?!"

If not for this telegram from Shanyuan Dashan, Inaba Shiro would also worry that this was a lure-the-enemy tactic of the Sichuan Army.

Shanyuan Dashan requested to shell for ten minutes first!

After the artillery fire stopped, the Japanese troops began to charge the two highlands; this time, Hashimoto Jiro led the team, acting as the vanguard!

Many explosives had been buried on the position earlier; a battalion of Japanese troops rushed up and over a hundred were blown away in an instant, and the Battalion Commander was even severely wounded by the explosion.

What the Sichuan Army likes most is using lure-the-enemy tactics; on the road, they use explosives and landmines to ambush the Imperial pursuing troops, and then concentrate superior forces to encircle and annihilate them.

Within two hours, we must rendezvous with the 6th Division!

Regarding the Central Army's active abandonment of these two highlands, Shanyuan Dashan believes this is definitely the result of his brigade's bloody battle; the Central Army troops suffered heavy casualties and had to retreat actively in the face of the Imperial Army's offensive.

Inaba Shiro still has great confidence in the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army, so he concluded that the Sichuan Army must have received news that the Central Army's blocking action failed, and only now are they actively retreating to avoid being bitten by the Imperial Army.

"Baka yaro!!"

A cold, sinister light flashed in Inaba Shiro's eyes; his 6th Division is like a fierce tiger, and now that you have touched the tiger's backside, you Sichuan Army want to just leave like this? How is that possible?

By the time the little devils figured it out, Ning Dabiao had already had the trucks tow the artillery away!

The little devils' shells landed, but they didn't hit the heavy artillery unit!

On Highland 780 and 781, the Japanese artillery units began a new round of bombardment; this bombardment!

This inspection took the Japanese an hour to waste on the highland.

With the firepower output of these powerful weapons, the Japanese did not discover that the main force of the Central Army on the two highlands had already withdrawn.

This position was the breakthrough point personally selected by the Japanese Brigade Commander, Shanyuan Dashan!

"Banzai..."

"Division Commander!"

"Order the troops to pursue along the entire line, bite onto the Sichuan Army; I want to strike them hard."

The Hashimoto Battalion, under the leadership of the Battalion Commander, launched a "pig-rush" style charge against Highland 780.

Although the Shanyuan Dashan Brigade lost an Artillery Regiment, Commander Okamura Yasuji attaches great importance to this rescue operation.

Following Xiang Yu's order, the Central Army soldiers quickly took action!

At this moment, two battalions of Japanese soldiers, under the cover of artillery fire, were constantly charging toward the position where Xiang Yu's battalion was located.

Inaba Shiro's personal Adjutant, Watanabe Ichiro, quickly ran to the command post.

Hearing his personal Adjutant say this, Inaba Shiro waved his hand slightly: "No, no, no..."

"Boom—!!"

"I want to encircle and annihilate this notorious Sichuan Army unit!"

You must know that not long ago, the Regiment Commander gathered several Battalion Commanders and revealed a piece of news: the Regiment Commander was to be transferred away from the Shanyuan Dashan Brigade to serve as a Brigade Commander in a newly formed brigade.

On the two highlands, only the Central Army's suicide squad and a group of wounded soldiers remained; they were now trying to buy time for the main force's retreat.

"This is the Central Army's heavy artillery unit... hurry and take cover..."

Five years... it's been five whole years; do you know how I've spent these five years?!

"Banzai!!"

"Order the artillery units to counterattack as quickly as possible and destroy the Central Army's artillery positions."

Weapons like the M2 and MG42 General Purpose Machine Gun, as well as submachine guns, were all left behind to block the Japanese Army.

On the highland, the trick mines buried by the Central Army went off; many Japanese soldiers rushed onto the highland, triggered the trick mines, and set off a chain reaction.

Shanyuan Dashan Brigade!

The blocking battle lasted for an hour; under the cover of artillery, the Japanese used 150mm heavy artillery, 105mm howitzers, and 75mm mountain field guns to conduct carpet bombing on the Central Army on the two highlands.

The mountaintops were blasted down by two meters, and many trenches were blown into collapse!

The Japanese artillery units began to calculate where the Central Army's artillery positions were based on the impact points and ballistic trajectories of the Central Army's artillery.

From the recent assault, Hashimoto Jiro already knew that the opposing Central Army unit now had little strength left.

However, after the remaining Japanese Army troops charged onto the high ground, they did not charge blindly, but instead had the engineers sweep first to see if there were any Trick Mines left.

Countless artillery shells, like shooting stars, came crashing down toward the charging Japanese Army.

But, just at this moment, a sharp sound of airflow came from the sky!!

Hashimoto Jiro heard the Central Army's gunfire on the high ground becoming increasingly sparse; he knew the time for his battalion to perform a meritorious service had come.

According to the combat power comparison given by his classmate earlier, the Central Army unit should be unable to hold on any longer!

Therefore, Shanyuan Dashan was full of confidence that his Brigade would be able to rendezvous with the 6th Division in one hour, thereby becoming the sharp knife of the 11th Army, stabbing directly into the heart of the 9th War Zone.

A smile appeared on the corner of Inaba Shiro's mouth; his 6th Division was finally no longer afraid of the danger of being attacked by the Sichuan Army in groups.

Thinking that the six-year period was about to end, Hashimoto Jiro's heart was full of motivation, and he became even more diligent in commanding the troops to attack.

Bursts of explosions began to resound on the hillside; the massive shockwaves and the exploding light of flames were just like a volcanic eruption.

In order to cover the retreat of the main force, the remaining troops numbered about a thousand; among these thousand or so men, Wang Yaowu and others had provided many good weapons.

"Banzai!! —"

"Division Commander... Division Commander..."

"Division Commander, I fear this is a lure-the-enemy tactic by the Chinese side; order the Imperial Warriors at the front not to pursue without authorization and to hold their positions firmly."

He also wanted to be promoted to Regiment Commander as soon as possible; he had been a Battalion Commander for nearly five years!

For Shanyuan Dashan, having taken these two important high grounds, he also breathed a sigh of relief; his Brigade could finally move closer to the 6th Division.

"Watanabe... the Chinese unit has really retreated!"

After all, Shanyuan Dashan's own troops had suffered casualties of two battalions, and the Central Army unit's casualties should be even greater.

Brigade Commander Shanyuan Dashan saw his troops about to break through the enemy's commanding height when they were hit by fierce artillery fire from the Central Army unit, and his face turned dark all of a sudden.

At this moment!

6th Division Command Post!

Inaba Shiro received a telegram from Shanyuan Dashan; his Brigade was moving toward the airport and would be able to meet in about an hour.

His Brigade was a reinforced division; it still possessed artillery units, and even had Heavy Artillery!

One of the Japanese Army Battalion Commanders, Hashimoto Jiro, waved the Command Sword in his hand, directing the Japanese Army troops to charge.

Hashimoto Jiro shouted, and he first found a shell crater and crouched inside it.

As the saying goes, a tiger's backside cannot be touched, and his 6th Division was much more formidable than a tiger!

"Adjutant, order the frontline troops to pursue with all their might; do not fear disrupting the formation, as long as you can keep biting the Sichuan Army."

Ever since Watanabe Ichiro came to the 6th Division, he had carefully studied the Sichuan Army's combat plans several times.

"Heavy Artillery..."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!! —"

After charging onto the high ground, Hashimoto Jiro was just about to shout when suddenly a violent explosion occurred, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.

Once his battalion conquered this commanding height, then the supreme honor would belong to him, and his military career would also advance a step further.

"Yes!" Watanabe Ichiro nodded heavily.

The Sichuan Army units had repeatedly surrounded and annihilated Japanese Army troops, which also led the common people in Japan to believe that the Sichuan Army was full of "crimes," and there were many curses against them.

(End of this chapter)