Although the two Island Nation divisions were only a few hundred meters from their objectives, those few hundred meters had become an impassable natural chasm to them.
Only a little over four hours had passed since the fighting began, but the casualties suffered by these two Type C divisions were already extremely high.
This was especially true of the Type C division at the port, whose Division Commander had been killed in the bombing. Of its force of fewer than twenty thousand men, only around half remained. The rest had either died on the road of the charge or perished beneath Australasia's aerial bombardment.
Only now did the Japanese soldiers understand that no matter how magnificently their commanders and government described things, when facing the enemy's guns and artillery, they were still nothing more than fragile flesh and blood.
If these had been elite A-class divisions, then even after losing more than half their strength, they would still have advanced courageously and launched attacks without fear of death.
But the armies defending the cities and ports were merely ordinary Island Nation Type C divisions. These troops might still play a certain role while defending, but in a frontal assault, their effectiveness would be reduced almost infinitely.
With their casualties approaching half their strength, the two Type C divisions finally began to descend into chaos. Some soldiers could no longer endure such a war and chose to flee in broad daylight, under everyone's eyes.
Although the military police quickly shot several soldiers who tried to escape, each division had fewer than a hundred military police. Facing tens of thousands of soldiers whose morale had clearly collapsed, controlling the situation was extremely difficult.
This was particularly true of the Type C division at the port. After losing its Division Commander, no one