The Island Nation's Army's 35th Army, with its 100th Division and 102nd Division under command, suffered devastating losses in a night of fierce fighting. Of its sixteen independent infantry battalions, more than half had been lost. The remaining independent infantry battalions had likewise suffered grievous casualties. It could be said that both divisions had been virtually crippled. Their losses were anything but small!
Yet after paying such a tremendous price, the Island Nation's Army had failed to achieve the results it wanted. It still had not broken through the German defensive line. It had merely destroyed most of the minefields and barbed wire before the line. This outcome naturally left Lieutenant General Sōsaku Suzuki, commander of the Island Nation's Army's 35th Army, furious.
However, three divisions and one independent mixed brigade had suffered severe losses in succession. This meant that the 35th Army had little fighting strength left as well. Only the 16th Division still retained relatively strong combat effectiveness.
Although the German military's losses after a day and night of fighting were not particularly great, the officers and soldiers on the front line were extremely exhausted. High-intensity combat was already a tremendous test of soldiers' physical strength and mental stamina. Under the Island Nation's Army's unceasing attacks, the troops had also expended a great deal of energy.
Therefore, after repelling the Island Nation's Army's attack, Major General Leser, commander of the German 227th Infantry Division, and Major General Manteuffel, commander of the 229th Infantry Division, decided to send the German troops stationed on the second line of defense to the first line, relieving those two infantry regiments so they could rest properly. This would undoubtedly keep the troops' combat effectiveness at a high level as much as possible and leave no opening for the Island Nation's Army.
When Lieutenant