"Shibata, what should we do now?" asked Lieutenant General Isoda Sabuki. Their situation is very difficult now! There are blockages in front and pursuers behind.

"Baga! Isoda Jun, there is no other way now. We can only attack if we fight to the death. Only by desperately defeating the intercepted Chinese people can we retreat to the eastern part of the Angami Mountains." A hint of ruthlessness flashed in the eyes of Shibata Yuuchi.

Lieutenant General Isoda nodded. Indeed, they had no way out now, and this was their only choice.

"Isoda-kun, let your 22nd Division, together with the Thais, block the Chinese pursuers. I personally lead the 15th Division to defeat the Chinese army blocked in front and open the passage. This time, we must do our best." Lieutenant General Shibata Yui made up his mind. He knew that if he didn't fight hard, they would be dead.

"Okay, Shibata, let's do it like this!" Lieutenant General Isoda Sabuki's name is meaningless.

Then, the two began to divide the work and cooperate. More than 10,000 people from the 22nd Division then turned to block the pursuit of the main force of the anti-Japanese rescue with the assistance of the 1st and 2nd Army of the Thai Army. The 15th Division began to accelerate its attack to the east, preparing to defeat the anti-Japanese rescue who blocked them. After all, Lieutenant General Shibata Yuki believed that the anti-Japanese rescue could penetrate their defense zone and appear in the foothills to block them, and they would definitely not have too many troops. If they could launch a full-scale attack and defeat the intercepting force of the anti-Japanese rescue, they would be able to escape.

However, soon the first lieutenant general Shibata Yuki would know that even the blocking troops sent by the Anti-Japanese and Rescue ** could not confront them.

The 1st Armored Brigade of the 1st Army of the Anti-Japanese and Rescue Army had more than 8,000 people. The 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment combined had more than 9,000 people. Moreover, these two infantry regiments can be regarded as elite troops for the Anti-Japanese and Rescue Army. Even in the heyday of the 15th Division of the Japanese army, they may not be able to fight against it. Not to mention, the 15th Division is just a force reorganized with reserves after it was wiped out. Moreover, in the previous battles, they also paid 20% of the losses.

On the front battlefield, the 1st and 2nd Army of the Thai Army were defeated under the attack of the main force of the anti-Japanese and rescue forces. Although the armored brigade left the front battlefield, the m3 light tanks of as many as six tank battalions were still not something that these Thai troops could withstand. All the Thai troops who dared to resist were crushed to pieces.

After the 22nd Division of the Japanese Army joined, they barely stabilized the situation. However, under the fierce attack of the anti-Japanese and rescue efforts, the losses of the Japanese and Thai troops became increasingly greater. As their losses continued to increase, they were completely eliminated, which was only a matter of time.

Now, all the hopes of the Japanese Thai army are completely placed on the 15th Division. If the 15th Division can defeat the intercepted anti-Japanese rescue **, they may be able to withdraw their main force. If the 15th Division fails, the consequences can be imagined.

It can be said that all the pressure now is on Lieutenant General Shibata Yuki, the commander of the 15th Division.

At the foothills, the 1st Armored Brigade, the 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment are building a line of defense. Major General Hu Cuiming, the brigade commander of the 1st Armored Brigade, is organizing troops to defend.

The 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment will be the main forces of this defensive operation. In addition to providing artillery fire assistance to the two infantry regiments, the 1st Armored Brigade can only use the armored troops to launch a counterattack when they cannot withstand it and defeat the attacking Japanese army. However, can the Japanese army be so powerful that neither the 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment? Major General Hu Cuiming didn't believe it very much.

The 1st Armored Brigade has a self-propelled howitzer battalion, which is equipped with 18 105mm self-propelled howitzers. The 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Infantry Regiment each have an artillery battalion equipped with 18 75mm field artillery. In this way, they have a total of 36 75mm field artillery and 18 105mm self-propelled howitzers. In terms of artillery strength, they are already stronger than a division of the Japanese army. What's more, they can also get air support. Once the Japanese army assembles artillery, the bombers of the air force will kill all the Japanese artillery.

Soon, the 15th Japanese Division arrived at the battlefield.

Seeing the suggested position constructed by the Anti-Japanese and Rescue **, Lieutenant General Shibata Yuki's face became a little ugly. Because he knew that there seemed to be a lot of troops here with the Anti-Japanese and Rescue **! In this case, it would be very difficult for them to defeat the Anti-Japanese and Rescue **.

"Damn it, why is this happening?" Shibata Yuki's face looked very ugly. He knew that the chance of winning this time would not be too great. However, even so, they had no other choice and could only fight to the death.

"Order the field artillery corps to launch immediately. The 51st Infantry Regiment and the 60th Regiment, be ready for combat!" Lieutenant General Shibata Yuki ordered.

The field artillery corps of the 15th Division of the Japanese Army was equipped with 36 75mm field artillery pieces, and the three subordinate corps were equipped with 6 75mm field artillery pieces. In this case, there are a total of 54 75mm field artillery pieces.

Such artillery strength is the standard equipment for a Japanese division. On the Chinese battlefield, there is naturally no problem to bully the Chinese army with weak artillery strength. However, in the face of the powerful anti-Japanese rescue, such artillery strength is somewhat insufficient.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Japanese artillery quickly opened fire, and 54 75mm field artillery fired frantically at the anti-Japanese and rescue positions, trying to destroy the resistance of the anti-Japanese and rescue forces. However, as soon as they opened fire, they were suppressed by the anti-Japanese and rescue forces.

With 18 105mm self-propelled howitzers, the anti-Japanese rescue was stronger than the Japanese army in artillery. This made the Japanese army not only not able to gain any advantage in artillery battles, but also at a disadvantage and suffered heavy losses.

What's even more serious is that the bombers of the Anti-Japanese and Rescue Air Force arrived immediately, and twelve B-25 medium-sized bombers and 24 P-51b fighters directly caused most of the Japanese artillery to lose. Lieutenant General Shibata Yuki was so scared that he had to order the artillery to evacuate immediately.

Under such circumstances, Shibata Uchinomi had to order the 51st Infantry Regiment and the 60th Infantry Regiment to be put into battle. Although their firepower preparations were not completed at all. However, if you don’t fight hard now, are there any other ways? (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!