Chapter 20: The Dirge of the Tenth Cavalry Brigade (Part 2)

  Faced with the large-scale charge of the Japanese cavalry, the Chinese army did not show a bit of panic.

  "Halt, present arms." Under the indication of Cheng Jiaji, the officer on duty gave another order. This command was quickly transmitted to various troops through more than a dozen messengers.

  Faced with the Japanese army's unexpected active attack, all units of the 100th Independent Brigade stopped advancing. With the sound of the order gun, in an instant, all light and heavy machine guns, rifles and various artillery on the Chinese army's firing line facing the Japanese army's impact surface opened fire, countless bullets mixed with iron and fire poured into the Japanese army's formation.

  At this time, the Japanese cavalry that had rushed over had already charged to a place very close to the military formation of the 100th Independent Brigade, and all kinds of weapons did not need to be deliberately aimed at, they could all hit the enemy who had rushed in front.

  The Japanese cavalry rushing forward was shot down by the hail of bullets, but those behind them charged forward fearlessly despite the threat of death.

  Kuwada, seeing the Japanese army's defeat, hastily ordered the use of hand grenades to open a path. The Japanese cavalry, who had already charged into throwing distance, threw hand grenades at the Chinese troops' firepower points on vehicles that were used as cover for infantry and to kill Japanese soldiers.

  After the Chinese army's firepower support point on a car and three large trucks was blown up by hand grenades, the Japanese cavalry regiment silently endured the strike of nearly 80% hit rate from the Chinese army in front, and then charged straight into the Chinese army's neat bayonet wall.

  Don't look at the fact that they are facing the Japanese army's advantageous cavalry, the independent 100th brigade's two battalions on the front line of the Japanese breakout fought extremely bravely. As soon as they met, they relied on their neat formation and used bayonets to stab down three or four dozen devils on horseback. The Japanese cavalry was indeed numerous, and it was a desperate situation, so they didn't care about the wall of bayonets in front of the Chinese army, where the bodies of the Japanese were hanging, and they kept piling people inside. Relying on the huge impact force of the war horses, they managed to break through the wall of bayonets of the Chinese army and create a gap, and it seemed that these two battalions were about to collapse completely.

  Fortunately, at this time before the war began, Cheng Jiaji had arranged for a company of veterans to be stationed at four equidistant points around the perimeter. One of these companies happened to arrive at this location just in time. The combat effectiveness of this company was indeed different from that of ordinary troops. Under the leadership of Company Commander Xu Cheng, they dismounted their horse-drawn carriage and formed a three-column formation, charging straight towards the two openings that the Japanese army had just created, without regard for whether they would harm themselves or not. They launched a fierce attack with both guns and bayonets, managing to block this opening in time.

  However, under the Japanese army's fearless and deadly charge, this regiment managed to close the gap with all its might, but it also suffered heavy casualties. In just five minutes of fighting, the regiment lost more than 50 men, accounting for three-fifths of the entire regiment. (The battle had reached a point where the Independent Hundred Regiment no longer had any fully-staffed and fully-equipped regiments. Although the organs and personnel of the regiment were supplemented to the fullest extent possible before the attack, the combat personnel of the regiment were still severely insufficient, with an average of only 70-80 men per regiment.)

  The two wings of the Chinese army saw that the situation in the middle battle line was critical, and they hurriedly squeezed from both sides to the middle. The firepower points on the cars and trucks on both wings also frantically intercepted and fired at the Japanese cavalry who were trying to break through from this mouth, causing heavy casualties among the Japanese cavalry near both wings. Although the firepower interception by the two-wing troops was a great achievement in killing the Japanese cavalry, more importantly, this firepower interception prevented the Japanese army from completely cutting off the connection between the Chinese troops on both sides and the three companies of Chinese troops who were blocking the Japanese army's advance road. As long as the Chinese army could continuously block the Japanese cavalry head-on, the outcome of this battle would be no longer in doubt.

  In a large vehicle less than three hundred meters away from the front line, Cheng Jiaji, who was urgently deploying troops towards the Japanese army's breakthrough direction, saw this situation in his binoculars and felt a great relief. He said to Gao Siying beside him: "Brother Yimin, it seems that this battle is going to be won."

  "Even if the troops on both sides are allowed to move towards the center, relying solely on the three companies that launched a surprise attack on the Japanese army's front line is unlikely to be able to withstand the Japanese." High Shiyin first nodded in agreement with his superior's judgment, and then as a chief of staff, he put forward new suggestions.

  "Order the troops on both sides to each withdraw a company to converge on the center, and speed up the attack on the Japanese army from other directions. Also, let one of the three companies that were held in reserve be thrown into the front line. The other two companies will wait in ambush behind the Japanese defensive line." Cheng Jiaji also understood that relying solely on the three companies on the front line, with over 200 brothers, would not be able to hold back the Japanese cavalry, which had already gone mad. He was even more cautious than Gao Shiying and immediately sent up three companies, dispatching two more as reserves.

  The three positive troops clashed with the Japanese cavalry, and both sides fought fiercely. Often, a Japanese cavalryman would just kill a Chinese soldier when he was stabbed to death by several bayonets at once.

  Thanks to the timely reinforcement of infantry on both sides and that reserve company, the number of bayonets in front of the Japanese army was increasing, and the wall of bayonets was becoming denser. The hooves of the Japanese cavalry were finally blocked by the Chinese soldiers' bayonets. Then the Chinese troops who had been ambushing from behind launched a very orderly charge against the Japanese cavalry from behind, even Lieutenant Colonel Kuwabara knew that the Japanese army was already doomed at this time.

  When Jiang Feng led the remnants of the cavalry regiment to solve the dozens of Japanese cavalrymen who had cut off their retreat with the cooperation of infantry, and then stabbed another knife in the back of the Japanese Tenth Cavalry Brigade, the situation for the Japanese became even more unbearable.

  However, the Japanese have always been the kind of people who don't shed tears even when they see a coffin. Just as Lieutenant Colonel Kuwabara was about to use his special tactics (nothing new, just the old trick of the "jade smashing tactic". That is, tying hand grenades to horses and charging towards the dense infantry formation of the Chinese army, using the method of mutual destruction to injure the enemy.) When suddenly a commotion broke out at the front line of the Chinese army. Lieutenant Colonel Kuwabara saw this and hastily commanded the remaining Japanese soldiers to launch another new charge against the Chinese army in front of them.

  Perhaps it was the heaven's will that the Tenth Cavalry Regiment was annihilated, or perhaps it was the psychological endurance of the Chinese army that had reached its limit. The defensive line that had seemed impassable just a moment before was breached by the Japanese army in one charge.

  Although Lieutenant-Colonel Kuwada also had doubts in his mind, the Japanese army now has no other choice. If they stay here and don't move, the Chinese army will rush over from all sides and immediately wipe out the last bit of the 10th Cavalry Regiment's strength. The Japanese army can only break through and rely on the mobility of the cavalry to kill a bloody road.

  Under the command of Sangtian, the Japanese army launched its final counterattack. At this time, the excellent tactical quality of the 10th Cavalry Regiment was fully demonstrated. Although the entire unit had reached the brink of collapse and more than half of the troops were disorganized in the previous fierce battle, most of the Japanese troops could still fight in an orderly manner under Sangtian's command. A part of the Japanese army spontaneously launched a desperate attack on the Chinese army behind them to slow down their advance, while the main force of the Japanese army rushed forward from the breakthrough point.

  The Chinese army suddenly seemed to have lost the courage to fight a desperate battle with the Japanese army, and they gave way. They only concentrated their firepower on both sides of the Japanese army's breakthrough troops. At this time, the Japanese army was already in a desperate situation, regardless of the soldiers on both sides being knocked down by the Chinese army's dense firepower, they just charged forward, thinking that as long as the 10th Cavalry Regiment could break through with 100 men, it would be a victory.

  The last 156 men of the Japanese Tenth Cavalry Regiment finally broke through the Chinese army's defense line. Before the Japanese could cheer, a hail of bullets from machine guns rained down on their heads. More than 200 Chinese soldiers (two reserve companies and most of Cheng Jiayi's guard company) were lined up in front, waiting for some time.

  The distance between the two armies was too close, and the Japanese cavalry suddenly suffered a devastating blow. More than 100 horses fell in just one minute, and poor Lieutenant Colonel Kuwabara was also riddled with bullets like a sieve. Before he died, Lieutenant Colonel Kuwabara finally realized that he had been deceived by the enemy and, without dignity, used his last strength to curse "Baka!" (Fool!) and then left this world.