Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 129: Meet the Beast Team Again

At the Seventh Regiment Headquarters, Senior Staff Officer Major Sugiyama hurried over to report:
"Sir, the commander of the regiment, the Araki Battalion has already engaged the Chinese. They have placed a number of guards on the periphery, but they were all defeated by the Imperial Army."

Since Isa Kazuo died in battle, Colonel Okafuji Takeo took over the position of regiment commander. In another time and space, he had to endure another half a year, so he had to thank the 527th Regiment.

"Yoshi, have you found out the Chinese people's numbers?"

Major Sugiyama bowed his head in shame, and then said:
"Sir, the intelligence department has not yet obtained the enemy's number. Perhaps they are just some stragglers."

Colonel Okado immediately turned hostile and started to curse:
"Bakayalu, as a staff officer, how can words like maybe, probably, and possibly appear in your mouth?"

Major Sugiyama immediately admitted his mistake and said:
"Hi!
The commander of the wing reprimanded me. I will coordinate with the intelligence department to verify the Chinese people's numbers as soon as possible."

Colonel Okado's face looked better now. He was a new official and had to show off his authority.

Okado graduated from the 23rd class of the Army Academy, never attended the Army University, and was considered a "mediocre person". He was promoted to the rank of Colonel and Regiment Commander, so he must have had some outstanding qualities.
In another time and space, he was later promoted to Lieutenant General and Commander of the 62nd Division. Although he was pretentious, this old devil who started out as a warrior was still very difficult to deal with.

Major Sugiyama graduated from the Army University a year ago. He was a promising man in the Japanese army and was very arrogant. This time, he replaced Major Kameyama to train in the 7th Regiment. Deep down, he looked down on the regiment commander who only graduated from the Army Academy.

Colonel Okado could sense it, so he suppressed him whenever he had the chance. The Japanese army had a strict hierarchy, and Major Sugiyama could only stand at attention and listen when he was scolded.

"Mr. Sugiyama, the Imperial Army's target is the headquarters building. As for the stragglers outside, the main focus is to disperse them.

Tell Araki-kun to drive the Chinese stragglers one kilometer away, then go on the defensive and shoot any Chinese who come close. "

Colonel Okado was indeed a capable man with rich practical experience. He first controlled the periphery and then concentrated on dealing with the defenders in the headquarters building.

Duan Yulin did not plan to have too much entanglement with the Japanese on the periphery. The Japanese were strong in both manpower and horses and he could not afford to offend them.

Although the 7th Regiment had undergone many reinforcements, they had never been completely wiped out and their backbones were still there. In addition, Japan's complete reserve system meant that their early reinforcements had high tactical qualities. With the old leading the new, the overall combat effectiveness did not decline significantly.

The Japanese military service system has its own unique characteristics, with conscription based on local conditions, such as the famous Kumamoto Division, Sendai Division, Osaka Division, etc.

The 9th Division is also called the Kanazawa Division. Except for the officers who are uniformly assigned by the Army Corps and the Army University, almost all the soldiers are from the Kanazawa area. Retired soldiers who have served enough years must serve in the reserve according to regulations. The reserve is divided into the first replacement soldiers, the second replacement soldiers, etc. according to the number of years of retirement.

Japan had limited resources and could not afford to maintain too many standing troops, so it relied on the reserve system to hide its troops among the people. Before the war, there were only 17 standing divisions.
In order to meet the needs of the war, the first mobilization order was issued about a month after the war broke out. Six special divisions, namely the 1st to 2th divisions, were formed with the reserve forces of the 6st, 6nd to 101th divisions. The officers were all previously reserved, and it was easy to expand the army by nearly 106.

These were organized into groups, and as long as there was combat there would be consumption, so the Japanese headquarters also recruited a large number of reserve troops from various places as supplementary soldiers to make up for the wartime consumption;
Since the outbreak of the war, the Japanese army has transported more than 3 reinforcements to Shanghai in several batches, which has enabled troops like the th Regiment to remain intact despite several depletions.

Therefore, in war, the number of casualties will always be a mystery, just like the Battle of Shanghai. After the war, the Japanese announced that there were 4 casualties. However, the data in the book "History of Army Operations in the Chinese Incident" compiled by the War History Office of the Defense Research Institute of the Japanese Defense Agency after the war was: 19360 people killed, 79057 people injured, a total of 98417 people.

But who can guarantee that this number is true? For example, these 9.8 people are all Japanese, but the Shigeto Brigade that participated in the war was mainly composed of Taiwanese, and there were a large number of Koreans in the baggage train, and the Japanese would not include these people in the statistics.

The 7th Regiment, the main force, had been reinforced countless times. After they arrived at the front of the headquarters building, they began to prepare for the attack.
野炮大队的6门步兵炮、4门75毫米山炮、4门37毫米速射炮建立了炮兵阵地，还是老套路，先等待机群过来轰炸。

In order to support them in the battle, Matsui Iwane sent out more than a dozen bombers to help, and naval guns would also provide them with support. The first round of firepower preparation was a luxury!
At ten o'clock in the morning, the bomber groups were ready to rush over the headquarters building and then drop hundreds of bombs like crows dropping shit;
The smoke and dust produced by a series of bomb explosions almost engulfed the entire building. Many bombs fell into the playground of the building, creating large holes. The concrete floor carefully built by the Japanese could not withstand the destruction of aerial bombs.

As mentioned earlier, the headquarters building is a huge permanent fortification complex, surrounded by a large number of warehouses and buildings, with an open-air playground in the middle, which can accommodate 2 people for training at the same time;

The building is fully equipped with all kinds of living facilities, and can be used to hide soldiers, train and live. Compared with the headquarters building, the Sihang Warehouse is a younger brother, so this time it is a bargain.

Thanks to the Japanese's "craftsman" spirit, the building was reinforced several times, and the Japanese's 100-kilogram bombs destroyed the entire building, and at most they plowed the ruins of the top floor again;
As soon as the bombing was over, the naval guns came over to join in the fun, which made Colonel Okado's blood boil. The largest caliber gun of the 105th Division was only 120 mm, while the main guns of the warships were all over mm. Dozens of shells fell from the sky, and the visual effect was indeed very good. Okado Takeo couldn't help but praise:
"The Imperial Navy's firepower was so fierce that it shaved off two floors of the headquarters building. It's a miracle that the Chinese survived."

Major Sugiyama cursed him in his heart with contempt, and then followed his words and said:
"Your Excellency, the commander of the regiment, there is no fortress in this world that the Imperial Army cannot break through. In front of powerful modern artillery, all fortresses are used to achieve the reputation of artillery!"

"Yoshi, what Sugiyama said is absolutely right. This time the warriors will not compete with the artillery for prestige. Napoleon once said that the cannon is the god of war.

Now that the God of War has finished their work, it is the turn of the warriors. Order the second team to send a squadron to launch a tentative attack to find out the strength of the Chinese first. "

Major Sugiyama took the order and left. Colonel Okafuji raised his telescope and began to observe the battle situation. He did not choose to stay with Major General Akiyama. He felt more comfortable having the final say.

(End of this chapter)