“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The soldiers of the Beiyang Army fired their rifles furiously, aiming at the Japanese.
While the Beiyang Army soldiers' marksmanship was nowhere near that of the Japanese,
at a distance of over a hundred meters, most of them could still hit their targets.
Even if a shot missed, the next one would always hit.
With their heavy machine guns relentlessly reaping the lives of the Japanese, the front-line Beiyang Army soldiers took advantage of this rare opportunity to practice their marksmanship.
This was an excellent chance for live-fire training!
However, the Japanese, who were fearless in their attacks, did put considerable pressure on the Beiyang Army troops.
Many Japanese soldiers, seeing that their advance was being suppressed by the Beiyang Army's powerful firepower, simply lay down on the ground and exchanged fire with the Beiyang Army.
This allowed their excellent marksmanship to come into play.
In this firefight, Beiyang Army soldiers were constantly killed by the Japanese's accurate shots.
Many Beiyang Army soldiers were even shot in the head.
But even so, the Beiyang Army's powerful machine gun fire and the mortar, which could fire in an arc, remained powerful tools for reaping Japanese lives.
This resulted in heavy losses for the Japanese in their offensive.
Even though their soldiers, relying on their accurate marksmanship, inflicted considerable casualties on the Beiyang Army,
the Japanese killed by the Beiyang Army's heavy machine guns and mortars far outnumbered the Beiyang Army casualties.
This outcome caused the faces of the commanders and officers of the 2nd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army to turn ashen.
“Baka! How many machine guns and artillery pieces did those damned Germans sell them?”
Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata nearly gritted his teeth to pieces.
Seeing so many Japanese soldiers killed by the Beiyang Army's machine guns, blown to pieces by artillery shells, his heart felt like it was bleeding.
“Division Commander, the Beiyang Army has too many machine guns and artillery pieces. Our brave warriors cannot break through!” Colonel Sakamoto Jun’ichi exclaimed in anger.
The fact that the Beiyang Army, clearly inferior to them, was inflicting heavy casualties with its superior firepower, filled the Japanese with a sense of extreme frustration.
“Damn Beiyang Army, this is so unfair!” Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata cursed.
Although Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata and the others were filled with hatred, they had no other options.
They could only watch as their Japanese soldiers fell one by one on the path of their advance.
“Order the 4th Infantry Regiment to attack from another direction! If the Beiyang Army has concentrated their machine guns and artillery in this direction, then we can surely make a breakthrough from another direction!” Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata was clearly not ready to accept defeat.
“Hai, Division Commander!” Colonel Sakamoto Jun’ichi replied.
The Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment, upon receiving the order, immediately launched into the attack.
They chose to attack from the south of Dacheng city.
The troops defending this area were two battalions of the Beiyang Army's 38th Infantry Regiment.
One battalion was deployed on the city wall, while the other was stationed outside the wall.
This allowed them to fully utilize their firepower advantage.
Like the 5th Infantry Regiment, the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment also displayed great bravery.
But unfortunately, in the face of the Beiyang Army's powerful firepower, they too were unable to break through the Beiyang Army's defenses.
In their dreamlike attack, besides inflicting heavy casualties on themselves, they perhaps only consumed a lot of the Beiyang Army's ammunition. Other than that, there was no other benefit.
The heavy losses forced Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata to suspend the attack.
He was genuinely worried that if they continued to attack like this, these two elite infantry regiments would be wiped out entirely.
After all, in just one morning of fighting, two infantry battalions had been crippled, and two others had also suffered heavy casualties.
It could be said that both the 4th Infantry Regiment and the 5th Infantry Regiment had suffered tremendous losses.
If these two infantry regiments were to lose their combat effectiveness due to excessive losses, relying solely on the remaining two infantry regiments and other second-line combat units to defeat the Beiyang Army's 13th Infantry Division and capture Dacheng city would be a pipe dream.
“Division Commander, the Beiyang Army's firepower is too strong. We simply cannot break through their defenses. If we continue to attack like this, our casualties will only increase.” Colonel Nakamaki Yūho, commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment, reported.
“Nakamaki-kun, do you have any ideas?” Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata asked.
“Division Commander, we will concentrate our forces and launch a night attack tonight. In the darkness, the Beiyang Army's superior firepower will be severely restricted. That will be our time to crush them!” Colonel Nakamaki Yūho suggested.
Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata nodded repeatedly.
“Yoši, that’s a good idea! Launch a surprise attack in the middle of the night, we must crush the Beiyang Army no matter what!” Lieutenant General Sakuma Zōmata ordered.
“Hai, Division Commander!” The officers of the Imperial Japanese Army all responded.