You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you ended up with a German-equipped division

Chapter 303 Okamura Neiji's Temper Breaks Down from Anger

"We're under heavy attack from the enemy's main force and are barely holding on! If you don't come soon, we're all doomed!"

Yoshizumi Ryosuke spoke in a low voice on the other end of the phone, his tone unhurried, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

"The enemy launched a fierce counterattack against our troops, and they have at least tens of thousands of troops in Huangkan Village."

"We can't take Huangkan Village in a short time. Hold on a little longer and don't give up hope."

Yu Chuanxiang cursed loudly, his voice distorted, like a wounded beast roaring.

"Damn it! You idiot! The enemy doesn't have many people in Huangkan Village at all! Their main force is all around Qin Family Village!"

"Launch a counterattack immediately! We'll definitely achieve a breakthrough and capture Huangkan Village before dawn! Hurry!"

Yoshizumi Ryosuke's reply remained cold and firm, like a cold wall, unyielding.

"I'm sorry, I can't take the risk. If it's a trap, we'll pay a heavy price."

"Besides, your troops shouldn't be unable to hold out for tonight. Just a few more hours and it will be dawn."

After saying that, he hung up the phone, and a busy tone came from the receiver.

According to Yoshizumi Ryosuke, even though Li Jianghe's Third Column launched a fierce offensive against Qinjiazhai, at least one-third of the enemy's forces were concentrated in Huangkan Village.

If we attack rashly, we might suffer more losses than gains and fall into Li Jianghe's trap of luring us away from our base.

We must wait until dawn, when the situation becomes clearer, before launching a new offensive; we cannot act rashly.

In fact, at this time, Yoshizumi Ryosuke was unaware that the guard detachment had already suffered considerable losses in the previous counterattack.

In order to create enough momentum, the guard detachment launched a counterattack without regard for the consequences, using all available ammunition.

The result was that a third of the tanks were lost in a short period of time, and the wreckage was still emitting black smoke on the battlefield.

Many soldiers also sacrificed their lives in the counterattack, and the trenches were filled with stretchers and bandages.

However, the benefits of doing so were also obvious: the Ninth Division remained indifferent even though it knew that the Third Division was under heavy attack.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke's caution and cowardice cost the Third Division its last chance of survival.

When Yu Chuan Xiangtai saw Yoshizumi Ryosuke hang up the phone, he froze on the spot, feeling as if all the energy had been drained from his body.

His hand holding the receiver froze in mid-air, not lowering it for a long time, like a statue.

After a long while, he finally let out a hysterical roar, the sound echoing in the command post, making everyone's ears ring.

"Idiot!!! Bastard!!! Baka yarou!!!"

But after his outburst, Yu Chuanxiang had to face reality; no matter how much he cursed, he couldn't change the situation.

The chief of staff spoke in a low voice, his voice full of exhaustion and helplessness.

"Send a telegram to Lord Okamura Yasuji, saying that the Ninth Division is refusing to come to our aid."

"If we still can't get reinforcements, we'll have to break out separately; we can't wait any longer."

Yu Chuan Xiangtai pondered for a moment, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened them.

"Alright, that's settled then. Report the actual situation truthfully, so that the Commander knows what happened here."

This wasn't a threat; it was simply the reality of the situation, and it had reached a critical juncture.

The enemy's offensive was too fierce. Under the repeated attacks of the enemy's tank units, the outer defense line could only rely on its flesh and blood to buy time.

Nine out of ten soldiers who rushed toward the tanks with explosives were mowed down by machine gun fire before they even got close.

However, this kind of fighting style is destined to be unsustainable, like building a dam with sand, which can only hold out for a while but not forever.

Once casualties reach a certain proportion, morale collapses completely, and the army suffers a crushing defeat.

It wasn't impossible that we would be completely annihilated by the enemy at that time; everyone would die here.

Okamura Neiji stared at the telegram, his eyes as cold as a winter lake, devoid of any warmth.

"The Third Division is about to collapse," he said slowly, his voice filled with suppressed anger.

"What on earth is Yoshizumi Ryosuke doing? He has fifty or sixty thousand men under his command, yet he's holding back!"

As he said this, he picked up the phone and dialed, his fingers flying across the dial pad.

When Okamura Neiji made the call, the person who answered was not Yoshizumi Ryosuke, but a communications officer.

"Commander, our division commander has gone to the front to deploy defenses and is not in the command post."

"Deploy defenses? Deploy what defenses!" Okamura Neiji was taken aback at first, then burst into a tirade of curses.

"Now is the time for them to attack Huangkan Village! Two divisions combined, more than 50,000 men, are defending instead of attacking!?"

"Foolish! Even more foolish than those navy guys!!! Order him to attack immediately! That's an order!"

"I'm sorry, Commander, I'll go and inform the division commander right now so he can come back and answer the phone immediately."

"I'm sorry, Commander, I'll go and inform the division commander right now so he can come back and answer the phone immediately."

As he said this, the phone was hung up, leaving only a busy tone on the receiver, as if mocking him.

Okamura Neiji turned his head to look at the map, his gaze so gloomy it seemed like it was about to drip water.

He originally thought that Yoshizumi Ryosuke was mature and prudent, and had experience fighting against the Third Column, so he should be able to bring a turning point to the battle in Huangkan Village.

However, Okamura Neiji never expected that Yoshizumi Ryosuke was so terrified of Li Jianghe that he was completely traumatized.

It was unheard of and unseen that a force several times larger than the enemy was not attacking but defending.

At the front, Yoshizumi Ryosuke was indeed deploying defenses. He personally inspected every position and urged the soldiers to reinforce their fortifications.

Of course, he also guessed that Okamura Neiji would call and tell him to attack.

But he firmly believed in his judgment that Huangkan Village must be a conspiracy by Li Jianghe's third column.

The attack on the 3rd Division was just a feint; their real killing blow was yet to come.

If his main force begins to attack, then Li Jianghe's third column will inevitably rush over and tear them to shreds.

This was the case before, when Li Jianghe's forces were far inferior to his; he always caught him off guard with counterattacks.

Now that Li Jianghe has a stronger force, he's definitely more willing to do this; they'd love for him to come to them willingly.

"Report! His Excellency the Commander has ordered our troops to attack!" The communications officer rushed over, panting as he reported.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke seemed to have anticipated this order, coldly replying, "Understood."

He said this, but had no intention of attacking at all, and continued to deploy his defensive positions as if he hadn't heard him.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke didn't attack, but Tasaka Hachijuchi couldn't hold back any longer.

Although the 107th Division had suffered some losses in the previous battles, its main force was still intact and it had the ability to launch a counterattack.

Therefore, the 107th Division could no longer wait and finally launched a fierce attack on Huangkan Village, making a desperate gamble.