Chapter 279: Defense and Assault of Yidu

The smoke had not yet cleared, and 448th Regiment's Regiment Commander Xie Boluan sprang up from cover, ordering the Messenger behind him: "Relay my orders, prepare to attack!"

Before his words finished, Quan Zong stepped forward in a single stride, blocking the Messenger's path. He raised his arm, pointing straight toward the Yidu direction reddened by the fire, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "Regiment Commander Xie, tell your brothers that when we attack they should follow behind our First Battalion. We will first seize the bomb crater created by the aircraft!"

The massive crater carved by a 500‑kilogram aerial bomb is the most valuable cover on the battlefield and must be seized immediately; this is the iron rule of assault.

"All brothers!" Xie Boluan furrowed his brow, hating being looked down upon, "Do you despise the brothers of my 448th Regiment? No, this time we must lead the charge!"

"Regiment Commander Xie, no time to explain!" Quan Zong spoke at breakneck speed, "Our First Battalion's machine‑gun fire is the strongest; we must seize the foremost position. You follow behind to avoid friendly fire! This is an order, move!"

The Messenger glanced at Quan Zong, then at his own Regiment Commander, momentarily torn.

Xie Boluan felt a fire brewing inside, waved his hand: "Go, go." He sensed that, as Regiment Commander, he now seemed like a subordinate, his words losing weight.

Quan Zong finally nodded, and swiftly deployed his First Battalion. The greatest taboo in an assault is a chaotic wave of men, which merely fills brothers' lives with death.

He knew better than anyone that today was only a small Yidu; beyond lay Xiao Ting and Yichang.

Jiang Anguo and Xu Guozhang's forces could not endure such battle‑by‑battle attrition.

Mountain warfare gives the defending side an overwhelming advantage.

Heaven and earth favor the Little Devil's side.

In the sky, fighter planes roared past again, their cannons and machine guns spitting fire, beginning the final sweep of the remaining Japanese Army fire points on the ground.

Quan Zong inhaled deeply, his gaze like an eagle's.

"Mortar, target: Yidu city wall."

"Fire!" Quan Zong issued the order.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Boom!

Boom!

The retreating Little Devils were blown into the air by the sudden shell.

Xie Boluan saw that the Independent Regiment had opened fire, and he could not fall behind, so he immediately ordered the eight 94‑type mountain guns behind him to fire.

Good fellows!

The perpetually impoverished Sichuan Army—when did they become so reckless with artillery? In the past they were reluctant to fire a single bullet, often needing months to amass enough rounds for one battle.

In just this short time, dozens of shells were fired.

Xie Boluan was also dumbfounded; by comparison, the Independent Battalion was far weaker, possessing only 60 mm and 81 mm mortars.

So this is how war can be fought!

"Second Company, frontal attack! Third Company, flank from the Right Wing and tear open their defensive line!" Quan Zong's command was brief and clear; he unhesitatingly handed his entire Left Wing over to Xie Boluan's 448th Regiment.

"Communications Squad! Contact the Artillery Company, have them advance three hundred meters forward to extend fire suppression!"

"Yes!"

Order after order poured from his mouth, precisely reaching each unit. Not long ago, he only needed to lead a single Company, like a spearhead, to charge.

But now that is impossible.

He is now the commander of a First Battalion, bearing the lives of hundreds; he must consider not just a single charge's outcome but the entire battalion's deployment. Each decision is like a stone thrown into a lake, its ripples determining the battle's direction—toward victory or into the abyss.

His gaze can no longer be limited to the immediate artillery and charge; he must, like a chess player, overlook the whole battlefield and calculate the gain and loss of each move.

Behind him, Artillery Company camp, Shi Xiaomao looked at the coordinates on the telegram and immediately adjusted the angle of the 105 mm howitzer.

Thud.

A shell roared out of the barrel!

Drip drip......

The charge horn sliced the pre‑dawn darkness; the First Battalion's soldiers, like tigers released from a gate, leapt from their hideouts and surged toward the bomb‑scarred position.

Xie Boluan's 448th Regiment followed closely, its soldiers' eyes burning with vengeance.

"Baka! Fire!" Japanese Army Captain Inoue rose from the ruins, his face smeared with blood, roaring as he rallied the remaining troops to counterattack from the broken walls.

The crooked submachine gun rattled "rat‑rat‑rat", spraying wildly, stirring up blood and mud.

Obviously, the earlier bombing didn't kill all those Little Devils; a few little rats survived!

A young soldier had just rushed into a crater; before he could catch his breath, a bullet struck his chest. He stared in disbelief at the blooming blood on his chest, slowly collapsing, his eyes still fixed on the direction of Yidu city.

"Suppress them! Machine‑gun squad, knock out that fire point!" Second Company Commander Shen Qi shouted loudly.

Several MG42 machine guns were quickly set up, spitting dense tongues of fire, engaging the Japanese Army in a duel.

Through the telescope, Quan Zong saw Captain Inoue's machine‑gun position and calmly ordered, "Mortar, concentrate fire on the Little Devil's machine‑gun nest."

"Yes."

Thump thump thump!

Boom.

Several mortar shells landed on Captain Inoue's machine‑gun nest, and soon that Japanese position fell silent.

More and more warriors slipped into the trenches; each shell crater became a perfect strongpoint.

"Check the bunkers." Second Company Commander Shen Qi promptly dispatched men to inspect the Little Devils' bunkers on both sides.

Sure enough, the Little Devils inside had been killed by the first wave of aerial bombs; a few unlucky ones were shredded by bomb fragments that shot through the firing holes.

However, the Independent Battalion's soldiers had a rule: even when it was unclear whether the Little Devils were dead, they must finish them off.

Bang bang!

A volley of 7.92 mm rounds was fired, but the Little Devil's corpse did not move.

Infantry 58th Regiment, First Battalion, Battalion Commander Sasaki, seeing the situation worsen, ordered, "Transfer all forces from West City and East City to the South City wall."

The deputy officer said with some concern, "Commander, isn't this too risky, exposing both of our flanks?"

"Baka," Sasaki snapped, turning sharply, bloodshot eyes, "Can't you see? All of the Chinese Army's firepower is concentrated on the South City; that's their main thrust."

Sasaki heard the howitzer's roar; not only the howitzer, but also the several American warplanes that had just passed—damned, damned Americans.

The Great Japan Imperial was reluctant to use its heavy aerial bombs, yet it deployed so many heavy aerial bombs against our tiny Yidu.

Zuozuo Mu paused and said, "Regiment Commander, my 58th Regiment First Battalion, prepare for total jade‑shattering!"

The order was swiftly executed, the First Battalion's Defensive Line was forcibly compressed, and all soldiers gathered at the southern city wall of Yidu.

Meanwhile, on the northern city wall only a squad of infantry was left to guard.

Zuozuo Mu, however, left a small boat alone, moored at the Yangtze Riverbank!