Chapter 12: Order the Artillery Battalion to Intensify the Firepower on the Little Devils!

Only by breaking through the 427th Regiment’s defensive line could the entire line collapse. This would also expose the flank of the 358th Regiment. Once they occupied the position, they would hold a commanding advantage over the 358th’s defenses. Once the heavy machine guns were set up, they could directly open fire to suppress the enemy.

Commander Liang naturally understood this principle. The battle situation was rapidly deteriorating, causing some urgency.

“Old Zhang, the frontline pressure is too intense. Send up the reserves!”

Shortly after the order was given, a squad suddenly burst out from the flank, accompanied by deafening battle cries and shrill bugle calls. They charged toward the Japanese forces attacking below the mountain.

The fresh troops caught the advancing Japanese off guard, forcing them to retreat. Otherwise, caught in a pincer attack, they would suffer heavy losses.

The soldiers, bayonets fixed, swiftly launched a pursuit. Their charge was so fast that even Commander Liang, who was observing, was deeply impressed.

“Quick, have the troops pursue!”

“Yes, sir!”

On the frontline of the 427th Regiment, as the bugle sounded, the soldiers, who had been holding back their anger, surged toward the retreating Japanese.

Suzuki Shigeyasu’s face turned ashen. He could not tolerate another defeat. Facing the incoming reinforcements, he decisively dispatched two companies to support the front.

Hundreds of soldiers from both sides collided fiercely.

The bayonet techniques practiced by the 358th had been adapted and perfected from the Japanese style—better than the original.

Though the Japanese soldiers were as tough as young calves, the 358th soldiers were not only robust but also had the advantage in physique. Moreover, their locally made Type 65 rifles were equal in length to the Type 38 rifles.

In close-quarters combat, the Japanese had no advantage and quickly fell behind.

“Close ranks!”

“Ha yi ku!”

“Ha yi ku!”

The Japanese liked to cluster around their corporals—the “plaster-flag” carriers on their rifles. When soldiers didn't know how to deal with this, rushing in all at once often led to heavy bloodshed with little effect on the enemy.

But the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion were not fools. Having received the support order, they anticipated close-quarters combat.

Although the rifle safeties were engaged to avoid friendly fire, they had no such restraint when using pistols or grenades.

One hand wielded a large knife, the other a pistol. The junior officers swung their blades with fierce energy, and if the fight turned against them, they would immediately fire their pistols.

Why neglect self-defense weapons when fighting bayonet battles?

If it weren’t for the limited number of locally made Thompson submachine guns, Chu Yunfei would have liked to teach these Japanese a lesson—to show them the specialty of the 358th: close-quarters combat!

“Kill!”

“Boom!”

Amidst the shouts mixed with gunfire and explosions, the soldiers moved in groups of four, advancing and retreating with discipline.

If a mistake occurred and a soldier fell into danger, the squad, platoon, or company commanders would provide covering fire.

The Japanese strategy was similar—fighting in groups with coordinated bayonet thrusts—but the key difference was that they lacked self-defense weapons.

As the brutal hand-to-hand combat continued, the Japanese quickly realized something was wrong.

“The Chinese have pistols!”

“Watch out! They have grenades too!”

Before one soldier fell, he smiled and pulled the pin on the grenade in his chest pocket.

The Japanese, seeing this, were terrified and tried to break free from the young soldier’s grasp.

“Boom!”

The grenade exploded, killing both sides.

Such fierce fighting made even the samurai-brainwashed Japanese tremble with fear.

Suzuki Shigeyasu lowered his binoculars, lips trembling, overwhelmed with emotion.

“What kind of troops are these?”

“I see no fear of death in their eyes.”

His adjutant sighed, “Their eyes show only hatred. General, can such a people be easily conquered?”

Suzuki, a staunch militarist, fell into deep thought.

He had originally expected this battle to be a crushing victory, a swift attack to break the enemy.

Instead, he encountered the tough 358th Regiment.

With strong fortifications and advantageous terrain, they unleashed a combat power that surprised everyone.

Suzuki honestly admitted that if he were the Chinese commander at Ruyue Pass, he could not have done better.

Setting down his binoculars, he turned and ordered reinforcements to continue moving forward.

The intensity of the bayonet battle far exceeded either side’s expectations.

Both sides thought the enemy would break first.

And so, the stalemate dragged on.

Casualty rates climbed steadily, surpassing thirty, then fifty percent.

Yet, both sides fought to the last man without retreat.

Watching anxiously, Fourth Battalion Commander Zhuo Tianyu took an assault rifle from a guard and joined the fight with the guard squad.

All units of the Fourth Battalion were committed to the battle.

Commander Liang, unwilling to stand aside, seeing the reserves had yet to arrive, gathered his bodyguards, signalmen, and anyone able to wield a weapon, even those carrying sticks, and charged forward with him.

The fighting was unprecedentedly brutal.

Within minutes, the fate of the several hundred soldiers was decided.

As fresh troops on both sides joined the fray, the puppet army’s morale collapsed first.

One deserter led to a dozen, a dozen to a full-scale rout.

The soldiers did not continue the pursuit but quickly picked up weapons and fired at the backs of the fleeing Japanese.

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Rat-a-tat-tat!”

“Bang!”

“Boom!”

Hearing the gunfire, the Japanese and puppet troops hastened their retreat.

The battle was won.

Elsewhere, Shibuya, the regimental commander, learned that Suzuki’s brigade had been defeated again and nearly annihilated.

He was unsettled.

With Brigade Commander Suzuki’s fate unknown, Shibuya was in a panic.

“Could it be that the main Chinese forces have arrived?”

“Regimental Commander, we have no further news. Suzuki’s fate is unknown; he may have perished!”

“Damn it! Why was there no sound of gunfire, yet the flank battle was already over?”

“Regimental Commander!”

After a moment’s silence, the adjutant reported, “According to reports, they engaged in large-scale bayonet combat!”

“Order the general to withdraw to Datong, reorganize, and fight again!”

Shibuya knew clearly that his regiment alone could never break through the Ruyue Pass defenses.

Better to conserve strength and fight another day than to continue bleeding here.

Thus, Shibuya halted the attack.

Fang Ligong, seeing the Japanese retreat, immediately suggested, “Regimental Commander, should we counterattack now?”

“No!”

Chu Yunfei waved him off and ordered, “Tell the mountain artillery battalion to intensify their fire!”