With the arrival of reinforcements, the Japanese quickly seized the initiative on the battlefield. The American forces, who had originally held the upper hand, had now become meat on the chopping block, pressed down and battered by the Japanese. If not for the cover of night—and the fact that they had fought until their eyes ran red—they might already have collapsed!
This situation did not last long. Though they had relied on the advantage of lying in wait, fresh and rested, to ambush the exhausted Japanese troops, the Japanese had now recovered their wits. The tide swiftly reversed. By the time the battle ended, dawn was already beginning to break. There was no doubt that the Japanese had won last night's battle!
Uehara Yusaku asked coldly, "Have our losses been counted?"
His adjutant said nervously, "The preliminary figures are in. In last night's battle, our forces suffered more than eighteen thousand casualties. The logistics troops were almost wiped out as an organized force. More than five thousand were killed, and over three thousand were seriously wounded. We eliminated more than twenty thousand enemy troops and captured over three thousand.
"But—but we lost nearly all our supplies—our weapons and ammunition, food, and materiel. Other than what had already been issued to the units, everything was lost!"
Uehara Yusaku's expression darkened terribly. Judging solely from the casualties on both sides, the well-trained Japanese forces had still won this battle. Though it was only a pyrrhic victory, as the side caught in an ambush, achieving such an exchange ratio was already enough for them to be proud of!
But the loss of logistical supplies was grave. Without those provisions, never mind reinforcing the Second Army—their own survival had become a problem!
If not for the international repercussions, he would have mowed down every