While Ren Wenbin ordered the 17th Division to attack, the Japanese army's third-line command headquarters fell into silence. They were undoubtedly aware of the change in the offensive method of the National Defense Forces.

At the beginning, the Japanese army was able to cause huge casualties to the Wehrmacht in front-line positions. This was because the Wehrmacht had always lacked the experience to deal with such complete fortifications as the Japanese army.

But obviously, the National Defense Forces have begun to change their tactics. They began to use firepower to test and investigate, constantly identifying the firepower points of Japanese military fortifications and then removing them one by one.

This is undoubtedly extremely fatal for the Japanese army's fortifications. Even the strongest fortifications will be breached one day under the water.

The National Defense Forces had advantages in strength, firepower and air power. They could attack the Japanese army from three directions and positions. As long as a firepower point was exposed, they would face heavy artillery bombardment and strafing from fighter planes by the National Defense Forces.

The ground troops, under the cover of tanks, constantly tested the Japanese firepower points, and gradually removed them by artillery or tanks. Obviously, the National Defense Forces have figured out this combat method.

The seven-hour continuous attack during the day was a proof. Although this attack did not cause too heavy casualties to the Japanese army, in the eyes of the Japanese generals, this was just because the National Defense Forces were not very familiar with this tactic.

Once they are familiar with this tactic, with the cooperation of fighter planes, artillery, and tanks, it will not be difficult for them to cause heavy casualties to the Japanese fortifications. They can even take the opportunity to occupy the next part of the Japanese fortifications.

The commanders on the third line are now worried about this. Although the attack during the day did not cause too many casualties, the damage to the weapons was serious. After all, artillery and heavy machine guns cannot be withdrawn as easily as people.

.

Many times, under the bombardment of the National Defense Forces' artillery fire and fighter planes, they could only be damaged in the shooting positions of the fortifications. This is also one of the reasons why the Japanese army's defense capabilities are weakened.

"Your Excellency, Commander..." Harem Jun hesitated. He was worried about whether the second-line position could hold up without reinforcements. But Shunroku Hata shook his head and signaled to his chief of staff not to worry.

Harem Chun had no choice but to shut up when he saw this. After all, he was just the chief of staff, and the only one who really made the call in the war was the commander.

From the third-line position, one could already hear the rumbling sound of artillery coming from the second-line position, and even the sounds of shouting, fighting and the grinding of tracks could be heard all the time.

As time passed by, everyone gradually became anxious. The division commander guarding the second-line position 211 was never a simple figure. He was known as the "brave and enterprising Rakshasa" among the Chinese Expeditionary Forces.

He was always at the forefront of every battle, and his advance speed was the fastest in the entire army. But such a person asked his subordinates to come for help, which shows how bad the war situation had become.

Although after receiving the order to hold on for half an hour, the commander did not ask anyone to come over for help. But this situation is even more worrying.

"Your Excellency, Commander! News came from position 213, and an attack by a large force of the National Defense Force was discovered!!" After a while, a messenger ran into the headquarters with a telegram and shouted loudly.

"This is a telegram. Please take a look at it, Commander!" Hata Shunroku's adjutant stood up almost at a sprinting speed, ran towards the soldier, grabbed the telegram and handed it to Hata Shunroku.

Although Shunroku Hata seemed to remain calm, everyone could see the smile on his face. And everyone in the headquarters couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that the Commander's judgment was correct. The National Defense Forces indeed launched a strong attack from the second point.

"Position 213?! It seems that the fire test of the National Defense Force was not in vain!" Looking at the telegram, Shunroku Hata stood up with his saber in one hand and walked to the map.

"Indeed, their fire test was very effective." Harem Chun nodded, and walked to the edge of the map and said: "The 211th position is guarded by an entire division, and it is undoubtedly the most difficult to fight. The 212th position is a strengthened one.

Although the brigade is relatively weaker than 211, it is not easy to fight either."

"The weakest one is undoubtedly Position 213. There is only one brigade stationed here. If the National Defense Forces adopt a heavy attack similar to Position 211, it will be very difficult to defend..."

Shunroku Hata nodded, held the telegram, sat down and pondered for a while and said: "Order! The 213th position will support the 213th position with a brigade of troops."

"Each of the two positions 153 and 155 will send out a regiment to support positions 211 and 213 at the same time. Position 212 will be entrenched and pay attention to any movements!"

"The two fortification groups 210 and 214 each sent a brigade to support the 211 and 213 positions. They must be asked to hold the position without any mistakes!"

"Hai!!" Chief of Staff Harem Chun responded loudly and excitedly, finally receiving the support order.

The divisions on position 211 breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the telegram of support. The telegram also stated that position 213 was attacked by the National Defense Forces. Therefore, the support given to them could only be from one regiment.

It would be good to have a regiment. The commander of the Kuroda Division did not even expect that he would receive support at the beginning. After all, he knew the situation at position 213. It was only a brigade of troops that had to withstand the same strength as his own.

The difficulty of attacking it can be imagined.

Therefore, the headquarters decided to give priority to supporting the 213 position. Kuroda is also understandable.

Position 212 is located at the midpoint between positions 211 and 213, so it is relatively close for support. Positions 153 and 155 are relatively far away, and it takes about half an hour for support.

"Tell the warriors of the empire that our reinforcements have arrived. We only need to hold on for another half an hour, and a large number of reinforcements will arrive." Kuroda calmly said to his chief of staff: "When the time comes, we will definitely

Can repel the attack of these Chinese people!"

"Hai!" Chief of Staff Nogami responded in a low voice, and then turned around and went down to deliver orders to various ministries. The one-day attack during the day caused great losses to the garrison division.

The attack at night was at a disadvantage because the artillery fire had no line of sight and could not exert its power. The Japanese army's fortification firepower points could not be moved. After being figured out by the National Defense Forces, they could easily target the elements and directly bombard them.

"Boom, boom, boom...Boom! Boom! Boom..." At position 213, brigade commander Asano's head was full of gunpowder smoke. The intensity of the battle was beyond his imagination. During the day, the National Defense Forces were at most three to four hundred meters away.

Stop attacking.

But now, with the help of fierce artillery fire and the cover of tanks, these National Defense Forces rushed directly to more than a hundred meters in front of their positions. The various explosives thrown continued to fall on the heads of the Japanese troops, and the entire fortification was in a mess.

.

"Your Excellency, Brigade Commander, Bunker No. 13 has been breached! The team guarding there is requesting support!" A brigade captain ran into the headquarters anxiously and shouted loudly.

"Red Deer! Our support troops haven't arrived yet, how can I provide support to them?!" Asano jumped up angrily and roared: "Tell them that now is the time for them to fight for the empire! As long as they hold on for another fifteen minutes,

Our support troops will be here soon!"

"Hai..." Seeing that there was no support, the captain could only retreat.

The captain was not the first to ask for support. In fact, more than ten fortifications and bunkers came to ask for support. The Wehrmacht's offensive was fierce, and tank shells kept firing wildly at those fire points.

With each round of shelling, a firepower point would be destroyed. The flying shrapnel directly cut the Japanese troops in the firepower point into pieces.

Asano was inexplicably sad and angry. A day of fire tests during the day had made the National Defense Force aware that this was his weakest link. Therefore, they chose to use this area as their main attack area at night.

There was a panic everywhere on the position, which showed how determined the National Defense Force was to break the position. Asano could not guarantee whether the position would still be in his hands in half an hour.

Fortunately, the support brigade at position 212 had arrived at this time, which finally solved Asano's urgent need. A brigade of one thousand people was thrown into the position, and Kankan stabilized the crumbling fortifications that had been beaten by the National Defense Forces.

It has to be said that even if Hata Shunroku made a temporary decision, it was extremely correct. It would be difficult for a brigade of troops to withstand the strong attack of the National Defense Forces under a sudden attack.

Especially when this brigade had just suffered a strong attack during the day and was not fully organized. The supporting brigade from the 212th position was very timely, although it was only a thousand people.

But it can help the brigade on position 213 stabilize their position and improve their morale, and at the same time help them defend their position.

"Everyone, please hold on. A regiment to support us is already on the way! As long as we hold on, these Chinese people can't fight!" the regiment captain encouraged the soldiers below. This was his

The only thing that can be done now.

"Hai..." Under the gunfire, those responses seemed so weak.

The rumbling sound of artillery continued, and positions 211 and 213 were reduced to a pot of porridge, but there was no movement in front of position 212.

Of course, the brigade commander of position 212 did not take this lightly. After dispatching a brigade, he dispersed the troops and left a regiment as a reserve to monitor the situation of the entire fortification.

The attack during the day caused more than two brigade casualties to this brigade. Fortunately, the brigade stationed here was a reinforced brigade. Even if some support was sent, it was still barely possible to hold the position.

The calm in front of the position did not make the brigade commander Itakura feel happy at all. In his opinion, this was just the calm before the storm. There was no telling when a tragic war would break out.

Despite this feeling, reason still told Itakura: This is unlikely. The main focus of the National Defense Force's attack should be Position 213. After all, the strength and firepower of the troops stationed there are relatively weak.

And if they choose to attack their central point, they are likely to encounter a pincer attack from two positions, 211 and 213. Smart people will not choose to do this. This is almost a death-defying act.

At this time, under the rumbling sound of gunfire, the reinforcements of a regiment from the 153 and 155 positions had already arrived from the third-line position to support the two positions. The two far apart fortification groups 210 and 214 on the side were also sent under the order.

A large group attempted to support the position.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The 211th position that received support seemed to gradually calm down, and the commander of the Kuroda division guarding here finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This battle made him sweat profusely. Several times he thought his position was about to be breached. Some of the National Defense Forces had even advanced to less than a hundred meters in front of his position.

The huge casualties caused some firepower points to be temporarily unable to shoot, and Kuroda even sent out his own security team. It can only be said that a regiment sent from the 153th position arrived in a timely manner.

If they had arrived a little later, Kuroda's division might have had to choose to re-attack some of the positions that had been captured. But even if they received support, Kuroda would not dare to attack at will.

He held on to the fortifications. He just hoped that he could rely on the strength of the fortifications to survive until dawn. When the sight was good, he asked the artillery to provide him with fire support. In this way, he did not have to worry about a strong attack by the National Defense Forces.

The attack on Position 213 is still continuing, and the National Defense Forces here seem to have no intention of stopping. They received timely support from a regiment and a brigade, but the position is still in danger under the artillery fire of the National Defense Forces.

After all, the firepower point just exposed was bombarded by tank artillery, which resulted in the destruction of multiple Japanese firepower points. What was further caused was the lack of firepower support on some positions.

Those exposed firepower deficiencies were immediately discovered by the National Defense Forces, who organized troops and began to try to attack those positions without firepower support points.

"Thud, tug, tug..." Most of the Japanese troops who came up for support were sent to defend positions with missing firepower points, while others tried to open the destroyed firepower points and re-form fire support.

Fortunately, the Japanese army built a high-low formation with anti-tank functions. Therefore, they were able to withstand the strong attack of the National Defense Forces for the time being and suppressed the troops of the National Defense Forces more than fifty meters in front of the position.

Since the supporting Japanese troops carried a large number of light and heavy machine guns, many of the National Defense Forces who rushed forward were unable to lift their heads under the pressure of the fire. The Japanese troops, on the other hand, used grenades to constantly try to clear out the approaching National Defense Forces troops.

During the bloody fight between the two sides, the Japanese army's call for help was constantly sent to Shunroku Hata's hands. Shunroku Hata held the call for help from Position 213 and gritted his teeth without saying a word.

The two fortification groups 153 and 155 supported the passing Japanese brigade and were ambushed by the National Defense Forces on the way. The National Defense Forces obviously used more than one army to fight. In other words, their attack this time was inevitable.

"Order the 212th position to urgently support the 213th position." Shunroku Hata hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "Tell them to support the past two brigades and be sure to hold the 213th position!"

"Hai!" Chief of Staff Jun Haremiya responded loudly. Shunroku Hata had no choice. After all, the troops fighting at Position 213 were not the same division. Moreover, due to insufficient troops in the previous battle, many firepower point fortifications were destroyed.

It is a last resort to use human lives to regain it now. Otherwise, once the 213th position is breached by the National Defense Forces, it is likely to bring about the collapse of the entire second-line position.

The National Defense Forces will use position 213 as a breakthrough point and continuously tear apart the defense of the position. Then the large forces rush directly to the rear of the second-line position and implement counter-encirclement of the entire second-line position.

Without the support of the third-line position, Shunroku Hata could not imagine how long the current position could last.

"Order the 153rd and 155th positions to prepare to reinforce the 213th position. At the same time, order the 210th and 214th fortification groups to deploy a regiment to make sure the connection between the two positions is opened..."

Shunroku Hata issued several orders in one breath. In his opinion, this battle was probably more dangerous than an attack on a front-line position. In this battle, Shunroku Hata believed that the Japanese army had already achieved the ultimate level of what they could do.

.

Some mistakes made when the front-line positions were attacked have been corrected, and at the same time, the cooperation between various departments and the coordination of firepower have reached the best state now.

If all the second-line positions were captured in this case, it would be a huge blow to the confidence of the Japanese army.
To be continued...