Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 124: Getting into Princess Iron Fan’s Belly
Most of the defense area chosen by the First Battalion was ruins and broken walls, and the rest were some solid warehouses, factories and shops. The citizens had all fled to the concessions. Looking around, the whole place was in ruins, all destroyed by the Japanese naval guns and aircraft groups.

An infantry company was deployed on each side of the main road, with the second company and the machine gun company serving as reserve forces. The battalion headquarters was located in the headquarters building, and the machine gun company was also deployed in the building. Such a solid fortress must naturally be utilized.

Lieutenant Colonel Saito's attack was quite standard. He did not send out his trump card tank at the beginning, but used it as a fixed turret from a distance;
Only one squadron was deployed in the first exploratory attack. Three squads were lined up in a row and divided into two echelons, with riflemen in the front, machine guns and grenade launchers trailing behind, and tanks providing fire support.

The Japanese army's deployment of troops was fine for field battles, but it was much less effective for street fighting.
At the beginning, the attack formation was maintained very strictly, and the teams cooperated with each other. They quickly advanced two or three hundred meters and gradually moved away from the protection of the tanks.

Lieutenant Sawada groped his way forward cautiously. The surroundings were all ruins, and there was no Chinese in sight. The silence was so quiet that it made his hair stand on end.

He kept reminding others to be cautious and to shoot if they saw any suspicious targets. He always felt that there were several pairs of eyes staring at him from afar.

泽田小队满编54人，下辖3个13人的步兵分队和1个装备了2具50毫米掷弹筒的分队；

Their brigade had been in the country before and had not participated in the first phase of the operation. This was his first time participating in actual combat. He was a little excited, but more nervous.

All the riflemen lined up in a row, keeping a distance of about 100 meters from the machine gun and grenade launcher groups.

In fact, his sixth sense was very accurate, and he had at least four machine guns ambushed on either side of them, but he did not fire at them;
After they walked away, the ambushing machine gun team suddenly opened fire on the second echelon of the Japanese, catching them off guard.

The crossfire formed by the four Czech light machine guns knocked the Japanese machine gun crew and grenade launcher crew to the ground, instantly killing most of the Japanese.
Lieutenant Sawada was so frightened by the intensive gunfire behind him that he immediately squatted down, and the other Japanese soldiers also hid in the ruins.

After making sure there was no gunfire ahead, they turned around and prepared to fight back. However, before they could fire a shot, rows of rifle bullets came from behind them, knocking down more than a dozen people in an instant.

The other devils fought back in panic, but to little effect, it was more of a way of boosting their courage.

Lieutenant Sawada huddled in the ruins and continued firing his Nambu pistol, his mind racing with countermeasures;

There were gunshots all around them now, and they were obviously surrounded. More than half of them were killed or wounded in just a few minutes of exchange of fire, and they didn't even know which direction to fight back.

This was the standard inverted triangle ambush formation of the 527th Regiment. Only half a platoon ambushed them, with 4 machine gun targets in a small ambush in front, and an infantry squad protecting them.
The main force behind has 3 squads. The infantry platoon of the company has 5 infantry squads and 1 firepower squad, 80 people in total. There are still more than 100 people left as a supplementary team under the control of the company commander.

There are only about twenty people left in Sawada's team. The grenade launcher and machine gun teams have suffered heavy casualties, and the riflemen are still struggling to survive.

Lieutenant Sawada saw that the number of people around him was decreasing, and there were gunshots everywhere, which meant that the other two teams were also ambushed and could not protect themselves;

Only the tank group in the distance continued to provide them with fire support, but because the two sides were entangled in the ruins and the vision was poor, the effect was not very good.

Lieutenant Sawada had lost confidence and now only wanted to break out, so he ordered the remaining soldiers to break out from behind;
But they still ran into the defenders' guns. The four machine guns and an infantry squad behind them blocked their way of retreat, and the dense rain of bullets soon knocked them all to the ground.

From the moment they broke into the inverted triangle ambush, the outcome was already decided. The only difference was how long they could hold on.

The power of the inverted triangle ambush formation in urban street fighting has been tested in actual combat, and it is especially effective in battlefields full of ruins.

After the third platoon of the first company (half a platoon) wiped out the Sawada squad, two squads were responsible for guarding, and one squad quickly finished off the Japanese and collected guns, ammunition and field rations, which were the material support for them to persist in long-term combat.

A few hundred meters away, Major Okazaki's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it. This round of exploratory attack was out of his control. He had ordered the troops to withdraw, but more than ten minutes had passed and none of the Japanese soldiers in the squadron had withdrawn, and the sound of gunfire became increasingly sparse.
If he had not seen his warriors being massacred by the Chinese, he would have believed that the First Squadron had wiped out the defenders, but in fact the opposite was true.

None of his warriors retreated, and without further hesitation he immediately ordered the other two squadrons to reinforce them;

Fierce gunfire broke out again between the two sides, and then the defenders retreated. When the Japanese arrived at the ambush area, they only saw shit-yellow corpses on the ground, and there was not a single Chinese person in sight.

The squadron leader on the left wing was furious and led his squadron to chase after them, but they were again blocked by intensive firepower and only calmed down after leaving behind more than a dozen bodies.

The Japanese squadron leader was frightened, and he took the bodies of the Japanese soldiers and retreated to the starting point under alternating cover. The first round of exploratory attack came to an end.

Lieutenant Colonel Saito saw this scene, but he did not blame Major Okazaki. Instead, he suspended the attack and called Major Okazaki and Major Hoshino together to discuss countermeasures. This is also a good tradition of the Japanese, who are good at summarizing after the war.

"Okazaki-kun, you have done your best. It's not that the Imperial Army is incompetent, but that the Chinese are too cunning. They seem to have used a completely new tactic that is very difficult to deal with.
If we don't learn from our mistakes and find a way to crack it, there will be even greater losses. Let's start with you!"

Major Okazaki looked at Lieutenant Colonel Saito gratefully, then said:
"Saito-kun, judging from the defenders' attire and sophisticated tactics, our opponents should be the Chinese German-equipped divisions, and some are other troops. But one thing is certain, they are all elite Chinese troops, equipped with a large number of German weapons."

Major Hoshino interrupted and said:
"Yes, they are the German-equipped division. I have fought with them before and I would recognize them even if they were turned into ashes. Commander Okawa was killed by them, and we were also driven into the sea by them."

Saito took a deep breath and said:
"Yoshi, the German-equipped division is doing its job! It seems that the Chinese have not completely abandoned the urban area. The number of troops is unknown. They have also been spotted at the Sihang Warehouse. It is unknown whether they have been spotted in other places.
But one thing is certain, it will not be less than 2 groups, or even more! ”

Okazaki and Hoshino both agreed, and Saito motioned for Okazaki to continue.

Following Okazaki's summary, the expressions of Hoshino and Saito became extremely serious. Major Hoshino even suggested reporting to the headquarters to request tactical guidance, implying that he wanted to ask for help from the army.

"Hoshino-kun, it's just a minor setback. The commander will not lower himself to ask the army for help."

Saito also knew that the German-equipped division was difficult to deal with, but he did not want to ask for help from the army. This was an opportunity for him to prove himself. If he missed it, he might never have the chance to command two battalions in battle again.

After Okazaki and Hoshino finished speaking, Saito began to make a decision. He was the commander-in-chief's designated frontline commander, and the decision-making power was in his hands. "Okazaki-kun, Hoshino-kun, the German-equipped division is just a group of defeated soldiers. If the army can defeat them, my Marine Corps can do the same. We can't let them laugh at us.

The Imperial Army's advantage is firepower. Now that we have figured out the Chinese's deployment, let them see the Imperial Army's powerful firepower in the next attack. I will ask the Commander for naval artillery support to blow up all the Chinese's hiding places!"

When Okazaki and others heard that there was naval artillery support, they instantly became confident. As a member of the navy, they knew the power of naval artillery better than anyone else. With the help of a powerful naval artillery group, it would be easy to destroy a regiment of Chinese.

After finalizing the combat plan, Saito requested naval artillery support from Major General Iida. Compared with the army, they could directly connect with Vice Admiral Hasegawa Kiyoshi, commander of the Third Fleet, and the naval artillery would be available at any time.

Before long, rows of large-caliber shells roared in from the Huangpu River and fiercely smashed into the ruins on all sides of Sichuan North Road, focusing on the area where the defenders had previously hidden;

Fortunately, they evacuated the defense zone after they succeeded. The troops were scattered and hid in the surrounding ruins. They were very scattered and had shelter in those sturdy buildings, so the casualties were not heavy.

They didn't have any good way to deal with the Japanese naval guns. They could only hold on, disperse as much as possible, and leave the rest to fate.

As expected of their own people, the Third Fleet's artillery preparation lasted for two full hours, firing hundreds of shells in one breath, plowing through the entire area of ​​Sichuan North Road except the headquarters building, destroying a large number of buildings and causing nearly a hundred casualties to the First Battalion.

"Damn it, don't artillery shells cost money? If you can, send the infantry over to fight one on one!"

Inside the headquarters building, Li Jie greeted the Japanese devils facing the Huangpu River. If he couldn't fight back, couldn't he talk back?

Captain Yu Liangtao, the machine gun company commander, leaned over and said:
"Battalion Commander, I heard that when the regimental commander was bombed, he also shouted that he wanted to fight the devils in a one-on-one duel, but when the devils really wanted to fight him in a one-on-one duel, he used rocket launchers to cover them. Do you think so too?"

Li Jie stared and said:

"You are hinting at something, are you suggesting that I send in your machine gun company?
Look at how you look like you have never seen the world. It's just a few more mortars. Good steel should be used where it is needed most. Just stay still."

Yu Liangtao blushed when Li Jie hit the nail on the head, but he still said:
"Captain, they are firing their naval guns, we are firing our mortars, and we can suddenly fire a few rounds at the Japs to help tie down their firepower."

After listening to this, Li Jie's heart moved, and his face was instantly filled with smiles. He patted Yu Liangtao on the shoulder and praised him:
"Good boy, you have great strength!
You guys have nothing to do anyway, so go to the top floor and fire a few rounds at the Japs, and also bomb their infantry;

Remember, only fire three rounds. Shells are precious, so use them sparingly. Retreat after you're done firing, and don't get caught by the Japanese naval guns!

Yu Liangtao excitedly took the order and left. As a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy's artillery department, he naturally knew the power of the Japanese naval guns. He was just attracting part of the firepower to the headquarters building to relieve the pressure on his infantry brothers.

Of course, the timing of the bombardment must also be grasped. When the artillery fire extended and the Japanese infantry had just assembled, Yu Liangtao decisively ordered the artillery to open fire;
Rows of artillery shells whizzed into the group of Japanese soldiers, blowing them to pieces. Although only three rounds of 3 shells were fired, it still caused a lot of casualties to the Okazaki Battalion that was preparing to launch an infantry charge, and broke up their attack formation.

"Bakayaluo, there are Chinese artillerymen in the headquarters building, order the artillery squadron to destroy them!"

Soon after the machine gun company retreated to the second floor, the Japanese artillery shells hit them. The headquarters building was so solid that it could not be shaken by the 75mm field guns, so the attack was in vain.

The bombardment of the machine gun company also exposed the secret that there were Chinese artillerymen in the headquarters building. The Japanese ship guns also found a target to vent their anger on, and they smashed rows of heavy artillery shells into the headquarters building, which made Li Jie's head buzz and he cursed:
"You are so good, Yu Liangtao, you are just looking for trouble for me!"

Even though he was cursing, there was no trace of anger in his tiger eyes. Instead, there was a hint of smile, which was obviously exactly what he wanted.

Li Jie knew how sturdy the headquarters building was. It was abnormal. The outer wall was half a meter thick, and the roof was made entirely of reinforced concrete, which was also several dozen centimeters thick. Large-caliber naval guns could only destroy the top floor and the third floor at most, but not the second floor, so they were safe hiding on the second floor.

The space inside was large enough to hide two thousand people. The gate was destroyed by Yue Qianli, so Li Jie sent people to push the wreckage of the Japanese tank to the gate as a shelter.

In order to increase its sturdiness, he found some sacks, filled them with rubble and sealed the gate, and then set up two captured Type 92 heavy machine guns. If the Japanese wanted to break in, they would have to pay with human lives.

The first battalion was to fight street battles with the Japanese in the surrounding ruins with the headquarters building as the center, attract the Japanese's attention, and create conditions for the second and third battalions to carry out urban guerrilla warfare and street fighting in the urban area.

Each of them carried half a month's worth of dry food, and they also seized hundreds of supplies from the Japanese, plus some reserve food they found after occupying the headquarters building, so they could hold out for a month without any problems.
A large amount of drinking water was also stored, and the captured ammunition was also stored in the headquarters building, so they had no shortage of supplies for long-term combat.

After firing more than ten rounds, the Japanese naval guns stopped on their own initiative. Not to mention the expensive shells, the wear and tear of the gun barrels was enough to hurt them. The most expensive part of a naval gun is the gun barrel, which has a service life. Li Jie wished they would bomb the headquarters building every day.

After reorganizing their formation, the Japanese attacked again. The remnants of the Okazaki Battalion and the Watanabe Battalion advanced along the main road from the left and right.

The tactic Saito used this time was a breakthrough in the middle, with tanks as the lead and two battalions accompanying the attack on the left and right. The attack front was only two hundred meters, which greatly increased the depth of the attack.

Li Jie decided to change his tactics and ordered the signal soldiers to send new instructions to the outer troops. Naturally, they used signal flags, as the radio stations had not yet been equipped to the company level.

After receiving the order, the outer troops pretended to be exhausted and dispersed to the two wings, allowing the Japanese to attack the headquarters building. The first and third companies on the periphery formed an inverted eight-character formation on the two wings, but they were far away, waiting for the opportunity to close the net.

Saito saw that the attacking force had finally advanced to the headquarters building, and a triumphant smile appeared on his face;
The cunning Saito did not rush to attack the headquarters building, but instead switched to defense on the spot. They were also on guard against the fleeing Chinese soldiers on the periphery.

After the attacking force gained a foothold, he sent the Hoshino Battalion to expand outward and established an arc-shaped defense line 300 meters outside to protect the troops attacking the headquarters building. Only then did he feel at ease and prepare to launch an attack on the headquarters building.

(End of this chapter)