At 3:00 PM on October 7, 1922. The Kwantung Army Headquarters in Port Arthur received the latest battle report: 'Regiment Commander Ushijima Mitsuru encountered the main force of the Northeast Army before reaching the front line. The troops are holding their ground. Brigade Commander Saito of the 1st Brigade is going to rescue them, attempting to coordinate the retreat of the Ushijima Regiment.'

Lieutenant General Kawai Misao thought for a moment and issued an order: "Inform Brigade Commander Saito that the Northeast Army outnumbers our Kwantung Army ten to one, and this time they launched a carefully planned sneak attack. The Northeast Army had every opportunity to completely encircle the Ushijima Regiment, yet they gave your unit a chance to rescue them. There is very likely an ambush involved. If your unit cannot easily coordinate the Ushijima Regiment's retreat, you should retreat on your own to avoid greater losses for our army."

Chief of Staff Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya broke out in a cold sweat hearing this. Lieutenant General Kawai Misao was telling Brigade Commander Saito without disguise that the Ushijima Regiment could be sacrificed. In the decades of history of the Japanese army, such a thing had never happened. Lieutenant General Kawai Misao was very likely to face a court-martial after the war because of this order.

But Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya did not speak up to stop him. The fact that the Northeast Army could ambush the Ushijima Regiment halfway showed that the fortress defense line on the border had already been annihilated. The Northeast Army broke through the solid defensive fortifications, which claimed to be impregnable even to an army of 100,000, in just 5 hours. Its combat effectiveness far exceeded the Kwantung Army's assessment of the Northeast Army.

Now they must preserve as many troops as possible to defend the core area between the Port Arthur Fortress and the Jinzhou Isthmus. If they couldn't hold it, there would be no post-war issues to worry about. If the Port Arthur Fortress were captured by the Northeast Army, Major General Fukuhara Yoshiya could think of no other option than committing seppuku.

Around 4:30 PM, Brigade Commander Kamijo of the 2nd Brigade had already deployed defenses at the Jinzhou Isthmus and was prepared to support the retreat of Brigade Commander Saito of the 1st Brigade. The location of the Jinzhou Isthmus was a hilly and mountainous area, and the terrain was very suitable for defense.

The Japanese observation post looking down from high ground discovered some small black dots appearing on the horizon. Before long, they could see clearly through binoculars that some trucks were driving along the undulating road towards the Japanese troops guarding the Jinzhou Isthmus. Those were not Japanese vehicles; even the Kwantung Army didn't have so many trucks. Moreover, the Kwantung Army's trucks were all in the Port Arthur-Dairen area and had not been committed to the battle north of the Jinzhou Isthmus.

The trucks gradually approached but stopped outside the range of Japanese artillery. Many soldiers got off the large number of trucks. They quickly assembled and grouped up, then set off towards the nearby high ground.

The news was quickly sent to Major General Kamijo, the Brigade Commander of the 2nd Brigade. Although unwilling to admit it, Major General Kamijo already understood that the 1st Brigade, which had gone to reinforce the border fortress defense line, was doomed.

Major General Kamijo guessed correctly; the 1st Brigade had already fallen into heavy encirclement. Because the Kwantung Army underestimated the Northeast Army too much and overestimated the fortress defenses, their advance was very hasty. The 14th Army, transported by trucks, directly separated and surrounded the two regiments of the 1st Brigade. However, the work of annihilating the Kwantung Army's 1st Brigade was handed over to the 13th Army coming up later. The 14th Army only left behind forces for encirclement, and the rest of the troops set off for the Jinzhou Isthmus with full force.

Before this battle, the General Staff Headquarters judged that the Japanese garrison in Korea might arrive at the Sino-Japanese border on the Yalu River within 72 hours. The Japanese Navy could transport a relatively large army to Port Arthur by sea within 90 hours at the latest. To completely conquer the Kwantung Leased Territory, the battle must be resolved within 72 hours.

The time at this moment was no longer calculated in days, or even hours, but in minutes. Every minute and every second was as precious as diamond dust in an hourglass. When the fine sand ran out, the cost for the Northeast Army to conquer the Kwantung Leased Territory would double, or the operation might even fail.

At this time, the 13th Army was also quickly cleaning up the battlefield. Surrounding the Japanese 1st Brigade was good news. The best part was that the 1st Group Army might be able to capture the railway leading to Jinzhou Bay within the Kwantung Leased Territory intact. The efficiency of transporting supplies by rail was much higher than by truck, and trucks couldn't pull some heavy weapons and equipment.

Among the captured weapons, the most numerous were the Japanese Type 38 rifles. This rifle was finalized in 1905. Since 1904 was the 38th year of the Meiji Emperor, it was called the Type 38 rifle.

This rifle used 6.5mm bullets, which was completely incompatible with the 7mm caliber of the semi-automatic rifles and light machine guns of the Northeast Army's Type 19 gun family. It was completely unhelpful for the ongoing battle.

However, the captured six Type 38 150mm howitzers and the equipped ammunition made 13th Army Commander Song Junsheng very happy. This howitzer weighed 2.25 tons, used an 11-caliber barrel, was 1.64 meters long, and could fire high-explosive shells, incendiary shells, smoke shells, and other ammunition, with a maximum range of 5,900 meters. The power of a howitzer lies in the internal explosive charge. Compared with the Northeast Army's 120mm artillery, the range of the Japanese 150mm gun was less than a kilometer shorter, but the power of the 150mm caliber was definitely greater than that of the 120mm.

"Report. Only just over 200 rounds of shells for the Japanese 150mm artillery were captured." The staff officer reported the statistics.

Army Commander Song Junsheng didn't mind at all. "More than two hundred rounds are better than nothing. Bring them all!"

At 4:00 PM, on another important battle line, the Yalu River front. The Northeast Army also started a surprise attack at 9:00 AM. At this time, various small transport vessels were constantly shuttling back and forth on the surface of the Yalu River.

Because the combat area was only 3,500 square kilometers, the 1st Group Army commanded the 13th and 14th Corps. The combat area over at the Yalu River was much larger, so the 2nd Group Army and the 3rd Group Army were assigned to this front.

The 2nd Group Army commanded the 5th, 8th, 23rd, and 33rd Corps. The 3rd Group Army commanded the 7th, 9th, 41st, and 42nd Corps.

The transportation hub on the Yalu River, the Yalu River Bridge, had been taken by the Northeast Army. However, the Japanese garrison detonated explosives at the last moment, causing some damage to the bridge deck. Engineers were conducting rapid emergency repairs. Thick steel plates were dragged to the damaged area. Cutting torches cut steel bars, spraying azure flames, and the arc light of electric welding flashed. As long as the steel frame production and installation were completed and steel plates were laid on top, troops including trucks could pass through the bridge deck in a short time.

On the river surface, small boats rowed across the Yalu River and docked neatly at designated positions on the other side. On the Chinese side, a large number of small boats were also docked. Boats had already transported a large number of iron chains across the Yalu River, fixing both ends on both banks. As sharp whistles sounded, the small boats began to move towards the iron chains. The staff on the boats hooked the iron chains with iron hooks, moved the small boats little by little under the iron chains, and buckled the iron rings on the boats to the iron chains with locks.

On the Chinese side of the Yalu River, wooden planks transported by trucks were piled high. Some of these planks were processed from local Chinese timber, and some were processed from timber purchased from Russia. No matter where they came from, they had been soaked in tar and other substances for several months, so there was no worry about rot even if they were wet by water for a long time.

The engineering team responsible for installation waited for the basic structure of the floating bridge to be completed and immediately began laying wooden planks. On the Yalu River, there were already three floating bridges being built. The captains of each engineering detachment called their team members to return to the tents to rest for a while first. Judging by the current progress, the laying work would continue overnight.

At this time, 2nd Group Army Commander Hu Xiushan was still on his way to the troops. 1st Group Army Commander Zheng Silang, who was commanding the battle, did not give the surrounded Kwantung Army 1st Brigade a chance to survive this night.

The Kwantung Army's 1st Brigade was divided into two parts, and each part was attacked by Northeast Army forces four times their number. No matter how much the Japanese army believed that spiritual power could influence the war, such things did not exist in reality. The shelters that could provide protection for the Kwantung Army soldiers and the sufficient weapons and ammunition in their hands were the reasons they could hold out until the general offensive began.

When the Northeast Army began to attack with overwhelming firepower and troop strength, Kwantung Army soldiers were constantly killed by real shells and bullets. Around 6:00 PM, 2nd Regiment Commander Ushijima Mitsuru drew his pistol and pulled the trigger against his temple.

At about the same time, 1st Brigade Commander Saito knelt facing the direction of Tokyo. He unbuttoned his uniform, exposing his chest and abdomen. At this time, the gunfire was only dozens of meters away from Brigade Commander Saito. With despair, Brigade Commander Saito stabbed a short sword into his lower abdomen.

Standing next to Brigade Commander Saito was his adjutant, holding Brigade Commander Saito's military sword, ready to act as his *kaishakunin* (second). Seeing the short sword stab down, he immediately swung the military sword to chop at Brigade Commander Saito's neck.

The adjutant was so loyal to the Brigade Commander that he didn't want the Brigade Commander to suffer any pain at all. The strike was fast and ruthless; the blade fell, and blood sprayed. Brigade Commander Saito's head was directly severed by the sharp military sword.

The headless corpse fell softly to the ground, and the hand holding the short sword also released the handle. Only then did the adjutant realize that there was absolutely no cut on Brigade Commander Saito's chest or abdomen. It turned out that he had acted too quickly, beheading him before Brigade Commander Saito could actually cut his stomach.

The adjutant's remorse did not last twenty seconds. A bullet from a Northeast Army attacking soldier entered through his left ear and flew out from his right ear carrying a large mass of flesh and blood. The adjutant fell beside Brigade Commander Saito. Their blood flowed on the ground and finally converged into the same depression not far away.

At the Jinzhou Isthmus, bloody battles were also fiercely underway. The width of the Jinzhou Isthmus was only 5 kilometers. From the highest hilltop, one could clearly see Dalian Bay to the east and Jinzhou Bay to the west. The sun was setting below the sea surface of Jinzhou Bay.

The preparations of the Kwantung Army's 2nd Brigade were much more sufficient than those of the 1st Brigade, but the Northeast Army's large-scale use of trucks for transportation still exceeded the Kwantung Army's imagination. Brigade Commander Kamijo couldn't help but recall the beginning of the Great War in Europe, when the German army was about to reach Paris. The French defenders gathered taxis to send French troops to the front line and finally held off the German army.

Obviously, in terms of absorbing and learning from war examples, the Northeast Army had gone further ahead than the Japanese army. Whether it was German custom-made siege artillery or the French large-scale use of trucks, these were things that had happened in the Great War in Europe. However, in the operational plans that Major General Kamijo had participated in formulating, the Japanese army was still using the military equipment and combat models of the Russo-Japanese War as the tactical basis for campaign wargaming.

Up to now, Major General Kamijo still felt that what was happening before his eyes was unreal. But the Northeast Army was using various examples that had occurred in WWI to improve its combat capabilities and had achieved a huge advantage.

After gaining an advantage using the latest tactical experience, the Northeast Army was using infantry-artillery coordination to launch attacks on the high ground occupied by the Japanese army. The Japanese army launched a fierce counterattack against this army. Although the Northeast Army suffered considerable casualties, they still stubbornly and effectively implemented the attack, and even captured two unimportant high grounds.

Is the combat effectiveness of the Northeast Army already above that of the Japanese Army? An ominous thought began to linger in Major General Kamijo's mind, refusing to go away.

Night finally fell, and the battle had to pause temporarily.

At the Northeast Army's airfield, lights had lit up on both sides of the runway. The last three reconnaissance planes began to land towards the runway.

The view from high altitude is completely different from the ground. Although the ground has fallen into darkness, at an altitude of a thousand meters, one can even see the last afterglow of the sun. The gorgeous colors were truly refreshing. Looking down at the earth in the night, two rows of firelight were like two jewel necklaces inlaid on the earth, flashing with beautiful brilliance.

The pilots packed away their romantic moods; no matter how beautiful the scenery, night landings were extremely dangerous. Everyone was also doing this for the victory of the campaign, trying their best to take photos of the Japanese army at the Jinzhou Isthmus to provide to the troops.

Taking a few deep breaths, the pilots pushed the control sticks and began to descend towards the ground. The most fearful thing about night landing is not being able to see the ground clearly and being unable to ensure the wings are level. In the air, pilots don't need to consider these; safety is determined by the direction of airflow. But on the ground, as soon as one side of the landing gear touches the ground first, it is very likely to cause a rollover.

The luminous artificial horizon could indeed provide some guidance, but to maintain level flight while accurately landing on the runway, the pilot would need several pairs of eyes.

However, the pilots were not overly nervous. In accordance with their usual emergency training, the pilots flew their planes towards the runway marked by lights to land.

Finally, the plane began to approach the runway. At the end of the runway, a large light was on. The pilot of the first reconnaissance plane saw the light was red and quickly pulled up the control stick. The nose of the plane lifted, flying into the air.

The pilot of the second reconnaissance plane arrived over the runway shortly after. At this time, the large light he saw was green. Hardening his heart, the pilot turned off the engine and pushed down the control stick. The rear strut of the plane touched the ground first, causing the fuselage to shake violently. Soon, the plane shook again, and the front landing gear also touched the ground. The pilot tried his best to control the direction so the plane wouldn't rush off the runway. Under inertia, the plane taxied for hundreds of meters before finally stopping.

The pilot let out a long breath, and a sigh of relief escaped his mouth, "Thank heaven and earth!"

Ground crew quickly ran over, and a towing vehicle pulled the plane off the runway.

Just then, the pilot of the third reconnaissance plane also landed. Another group of ground crew started a vehicle, keeping the same speed as the plane as much as possible, ready to rush up to rescue immediately in case of an accident.

The Northeast Air Force was lucky; the pilots, who had a lot of experience with polarized light-guided landings, all landed safely. Especially the pilot of the first plane—when he landed, his fuel was almost exhausted.

The pilot didn't even have the strength to get out of the cabin himself; he was carried out by the ground crew. The pilot, already drenched in sweat and almost collapsed, said to the ground crew in a weak voice, "There's a problem with the plane's artificial horizon..."

The ground crew quickly recorded the pilot's words. The Group Commander had already rushed to the front. He grabbed the pilot's shoulder and shouted angrily, "What are you doing! Why didn't you obey discipline and return early!"

The pilot regretted it deeply. He knew he had indeed violated discipline and had also implicated other comrades—the pilots of the other two reconnaissance planes were escorting him.

Just as he wanted to speak up to take responsibility, the pilot saw tears in the Group Commander's eyes. "So many comrades have already had accidents. If you have an accident too, how can I explain to your families! Don't court death; stay alive!"

The pilot was both ashamed and moved. His nose soured, and his throat choked up.

The photos taken under such dangerous conditions were developed immediately. In the second half of the night, the Northeast Air Force finally delivered the still slightly damp photos to the Army Staff Headquarters.

The Air Force communications officer walked into the temporary station of the Army Staff Headquarters and saw that the tent was not only lit up but also crowded with people in the staff department. Everyone was actually awake.

Draftsmen immediately clipped the photos onto the standing boards and began to determine the Japanese defensive positions against the map. Officers placed the negatives on projectors, and soon, the images of the Japanese positions were projected onto the screen.

The Northeast Army began to make countermeasures against the enemy's aerial reconnaissance [Note: this might mean 'based on aerial reconnaissance', or defending against enemy recon, but context suggests using recon data]. The Japanese obviously had no preparation in this regard. On the hilltops, the Japanese positions were clearly visible.

There were plenty of maps in the Northeast Army. Maps of the Jinzhou Isthmus with coordinate lines were immediately taken out, and staff personnel began to mark their coordinate positions.

The Deputy Chief of Staff said to the Air Force communications officer, "Comrade, thank you for your work. Go back and tell the Group Commanders that we will contact them as soon as possible to determine the reconnaissance content for tomorrow."

The Air Force pilot saluted quickly and left, bringing the news back to the flying group. This was already 3:00 AM. Just past 6:00 AM, the staff department sent someone to deliver a stack of marked maps.

At 7:00 AM on October 8th, Air Force reconnaissance planes took off into the morning sun. The observers in the back seats all held marked maps, carefully memorizing the location of each mark. And they corresponded the positions with the ground seen yesterday.

No further explanation was needed; the Air Force had long kept the reasons for doing so in mind during daily training. As long as the Air Force determined that the Japanese artillery positions, firing points, and infantry positions were still in yesterday's locations, the Army would launch targeted attacks. Although the Air Force and the Army belonged to two different branches and had their own headquarters, in terms of combat, both sides had to cooperate closely.

It took the plane more than half an hour to arrive over the Japanese positions at the Jinzhou Isthmus. At this time, about 23 hours had passed since the start of the war, and 49 hours remained before the 72-hour deadline.