October 10, 1922, 7:00 AM. The Government-General of Korea and the Japanese Korean Army Headquarters received telegrams from the two frontline division headquarters respectively. "...Our forces are currently engaged in fierce combat with the enemy. The enemy possesses superior strength and has launched a frontal offensive against all our positions. Our entire force is fighting valiantly, striving to thoroughly crush the enemy's attack and launch a counteroffensive to repel them."

The boastful conclusion at the end of the telegram went unnoticed by the high command. Whether at the Korean Army Headquarters, or at the Ministry of War and the General Staff Headquarters in Tokyo—to whom the telegrams were quickly forwarded—the senior officers were focused solely on the situation report.

The first few sentences of the telegram sketched out the battlefield situation clearly. The Northeast Army possessed superior strength, and the advantage was significant. The Northeast Army was on the offensive, and the two divisions of the Korean Army were being completely suppressed, with no ability to strike back.

It had been over a dozen hours since the Northeast Army annihilated the Kwantung Army. During this time, the generals had been forced to accept a fact: the combat effectiveness of the Northeast Army was no less than that of the elite divisions of the Japanese Army. And judging by the telegrams from the Korean Army, the situation they faced was already critically dangerous.

The officers at the General Staff Headquarters looked solemnly at the Chief of the General Staff, General Uehara Yusaku. The General's expression did not hold the manic excitement typical of the radicals; faced with real war, his expression was one of military professional composure. He asked, "Has the troop deployment plan been sent to the Ministry of War?"

A staff officer quickly replied, "It has been sent."

"Get me the Ministry of War on the phone," the General said.

***

In Korea, over sixty percent of the Northeast Army's attacking forces had closed in on the Japanese first-line positions. Although the situation varied across different positions, at a distance of 50 meters from the Japanese lines, while combat steps could be further refined, the Japanese response measures appeared far too crude to the low and mid-level commanders of the Northeast Army.

Following the Northeast Army's operational procedures, platoon leaders issued orders to breach. Three-man combat cells, armed with hundreds of semi-automatic rifles and submachine guns, began trading fire with the Japanese infantry. Utilizing their advantage in rate of fire, they instantly suppressed the Japanese riflemen opposite them.

Light machine gunners seized this opportunity to establish gun positions. After firing a few rounds to find their range, they locked on. The three-man teams stopped shooting and began to cross the 50-meter gap, launching an assault on the Japanese positions.

As soon as the Japanese soldiers showed their heads, they were met with strafing fire from light machine guns. The bullets swept across the top edge of the trenches like a scythe. Anyone who dared to peek out—one head or several—had their skulls blown apart.

Although it was the first time the Japanese troops had encountered these Northeast Army tactics and they didn't fully understand them, with the enemy machine guns so close, every Japanese squad and company leader understood one thing: the Northeast Army intended to break through their positions and kill their way in.

Firepoints that hadn't yet engaged were forced to roar to life, trading fire with the Northeast Army's frontline machine guns. The machine guns roared, a single gun firing more bullets in ten seconds than a rifle squad could fire in several minutes.

Amidst the machine gun smoke, Japanese soldiers pulled out hand grenades and threw them toward the attacking Northeast Army. The Northeast Army grenadiers also threw grenades at the Japanese at this moment.

The 50-meter distance boiled over in these explosions. Bullets and shrapnel flew horizontally, sweeping away every living thing within range. In the blink of an eye, dozens of combat cells suffered casualties in this area.

Some Northeast Army company and platoon leaders were angered by the losses of their assault teams. Others coolly analyzed the situation, judging the distribution and coverage of Japanese firepoints.

Platoon Leader Zheng Yongnian of the 33rd Army reacted the fastest. He had already spotted a gap in the Japanese fire net. He called to a squad beside him, "Follow me!"

In the Northeast Army, the phrase "Follow me" meant the officer would be at the very front of the unit, the first to charge into the enemy trench. The squad leader immediately replied, "Yes!"

Zheng Yongnian used the smoke for cover and crawled forward. Bullets flew past, almost grazing his scalp, but they didn't slow Platoon Leader Zheng's advance in the slightest. He moved straight, then adopted a lateral rolling combat maneuver, entering a depression in the ground.

Following Zheng Yongnian's tactical movements, the squad actually arrived ten meters below the Japanese position completely unscathed.

"Grenades!" Platoon Leader Zheng ordered.

Standard issue grenades were carried by everyone in the Northeast Army; only long-range projection was the responsibility of designated grenadiers. A distance of ten meters was nothing for Northeast Army soldiers.

"Three rounds, continuous!" Platoon Leader Zheng supplemented the order.

Moments later, thirty-some grenades flew into the Japanese position above like homing crows. Amidst a continuous string of explosions, the firing from the Japanese position above ceased immediately.

Seeing the platoon leader jump up and charge toward the Japanese position, the soldiers followed suit. Only then did they hear the platoon leader's loud shout: "Charge with me!"

Although there were only eleven men including the platoon leader, after the unit vaulted over the Japanese fortifications and jumped into the field trenches, they immediately began sweeping the enemy along the trench line. There were at least two squads of Japanese troops on either side. Caught off guard by such a sudden attack, they couldn't react in time and ended up in a back-and-forth battle with the single platoon of Northeast Army attackers.

Nearby units saw someone had achieved a breakthrough and immediately threw forces into this small breach. By the time the eleven officers and men were reduced to six, four or five consecutive combat cells had already charged into the Japanese position. Northeast Army submachine guns began to howl inside the Japanese trenches.

Japan was also developing submachine guns at this time, but they hadn't equipped their troops with them. The rate of fire of the Type 38 rifle was too slow; even if a Japanese soldier hit a Northeast Army soldier, in the moment it took to work the bolt, he would be immediately hit multiple times by a submachine gun.

Even so, under the howling command of their officers, the Japanese soldiers continued to trade fire without fear of death. They knew that if they retreated now, the Northeast Army would attack the next line of defense. They had to delay the Northeast Army here no matter what.

Cruel close-quarters combat at dozens of breach points instantly produced hundreds of casualties on both sides. The Japanese desperate resistance took effect. Platoon Leader Zheng heard a roar from diagonally above, *"Totsugeki!"*

Immediately, Japanese troops from the second line of defense arrived. They first exchanged a round of fire with the Northeast Army at close range. The Japanese reinforcements found that the efficiency of the Northeast Army's submachine gun fire attacking diagonally upward was unaffected, and the Japanese reinforcements suffered for it.

A Japanese officer drew his military sword, leaped down, and swung with all his might. This fellow was agile and had good luck. As he landed, his blade slashed the back of a Northeast Army soldier, the sharp edge carving a massive wound. The Japanese officer didn't even look before thrusting again, the tip of his blade plunging directly into a soldier's chest.

The Japanese officer withdrew his blade and, with fluid motion, cut down another Northeast Army soldier.

Seeing that this guy was a master swordsman, Platoon Leader Zheng shoved aside the soldier in front of him, raised his submachine gun, and fired a burst. Just then, Platoon Leader Zheng felt a massive blow to his head, and his consciousness instantly plunged into darkness.

It turned out a Japanese soldier above had hit him. At the same time, that swordsmanship-expert Japanese officer was also hit by multiple bullets and fell. Northeast Army soldiers moved up to finish him off completely, while the Japanese officer's subordinates charged up to fight the Northeast Army, desperately trying to save their commander.

In these crowded trenches, shooting became useless. Bayonets, rifle butts, and even fists became the handiest weapons. Bloody hand-to-hand combat unfolded across the positions the Japanese had allowed to be breached.

***

By the time the relevant battle reports were sent to the Army Group Headquarters, it was already around 7:30 AM. Every attacking unit was forced to admit: "To Army Group Headquarters: Our frontline units breached Japanese positions at multiple points. The Japanese quickly mobilized troops to implement ferocious counterattacks. Due to the enemy's absolute numerical superiority, none of the breached points could be exploited for a breakthrough. The troops that entered Japanese positions have all withdrawn. Casualties... Missing..."

By the time Hu Xiushan finished reading the battle reports, the staff officers had already calculated the numbers. The Northeast Army's four corps lost 493 men killed, 1,488 wounded, and 198 missing in this round of attacks. The missing were likely lost inside the Japanese positions.

According to rough statistics from various units, Japanese casualties were around 4,000. More importantly, part of the intelligence regarding Japanese firepoints and fortifications had been mastered by the Northeast Army units. Next, the Northeast Army would conduct targeted attacks based on this information.

At this moment, the two Japanese division commanders in Korea had already sent out their situation reports. "...Enemy large-scale offensive has been repulsed by our forces. Our forces: killed... wounded... captured... Enemy forces: killed... wounded... captured... We are now transitioning from offense to defense to consume enemy manpower, preparing to launch a counterattack after the enemy's offensive power is exhausted."

Before Japanese Minister of War Tanaka Giichi saw this report, he had just finished a phone call with Chief of General Staff Uehara Yusaku. On the call, both agreed that the mobilization plan did not need to be reported first, but should begin immediately based on the authority they both possessed.

During the conversation, General Tanaka Giichi had already sensed the anxiety in General Uehara Yusaku's heart. How could General Tanaka not feel the same?

The Kwantung Army had already lost 40,000 ground troops. If the Korean Army were completely annihilated, that would be another 45,000 to 50,000 men. The current actual strength of the Japanese Army was only 290,000; losing one-third of their elite troops in a few days was catastrophic. Even though the Commander of the Kwantung Army, the Governor-General of Korea, and the Commander of the Korean Army were responsible, the Minister of War and the Chief of the General Staff would also have to bear responsibility.

At least one person would have to resign in disgrace. If Korea were lost, both the Minister of War and the Chief of the General Staff would inevitably have to resign or even retire. They were cooperating fully, gambling on who would have to take responsibility first.

After reading the telegram, Tanaka Giichi made a quick estimate: the two Japanese divisions had suffered over 6,000 casualties. Although the battle report stated the Northeast Army's casualties were the same as the Korean Army's, the Northeast Army was actively attacking prepared Japanese positions and was at a comprehensive disadvantage. In this situation, repelling the enemy with a 1:1 exchange ratio was, militarily speaking, already a defeat.

Moreover, the Northeast Army's first round of attacks was certainly not a probing attack. If a probing attack was fought like this, what would the result be when facing the Northeast Army's full-strength offensive?

What Tanaka Giichi thought of, the Second Army Group Headquarters had also thought of, and the various Corps Headquarters of the Second Army Group had likewise thought of.

Without needing orders from Army Group Headquarters, each Corps stated at the end of their reports: "My unit will immediately organize a full-scale offensive, striving to break through the Japanese first line of defense and compress the Japanese area of operation. To prepare for the subsequent total annihilation."

Hu Xiushan replied calmly, "Requests from all Corps approved. Additionally, inquire again: where have the various infiltration units moved to?"